(EPPM ) - EPPM will start construction of the offshore platform and the onshore power plant in 2023

EPPM in Tunis, and Kivu Power in Kinshasa, have reached the final stage of securing all the administrative authorizations required to start the construction of their gas-to-power project on Lake Kivu in 2023.

Kivu Power will install on the Lake Kivu an offshore methane gas extraction and treatment platform, a 5 km gas pipeline, a 30 MW methane gas conversion power plant on the lake shore, and a 6 km transmission line to the Mugunga source substation.

Kivu Power is the special purpose vehicle created in 2018 by EPPM Group, winner of an international call for tender launched by the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In partnership with the Congolese authorities, Kivu Power has obtained a Gas Concession Agreement and an Independent Power Producer (IPP) License. For the purposes of selling electricity, a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) has been signed with the National Electricity Company (SNEL) in 2021 and an electricity tariff has been officially approved by the Congolese authorities. 

The partnership between Kivu Power and SNEL will allow the purchase of electricity produced by the power plant, the upgrading of the electricity grid, and its extension for a better supply of electricity to the population. SNEL has launched the necessary studies and has started to install the prepayment meters in the area. 

This project is fully in line with the Congolese government’s strategy to mitigate the risks associated with high gas concentration in the Lake Kivu and to improve the supply of clean energy to the Congolese population.

The total cost of the project is estimated at US$ 185 million. Advanced discussions are currently underway with lenders active on the African continent to establish the banking pool that will take part in the financing of the project. The objective is to reach the financial closing and to launch construction in 2023.

Hafedh Daoud, CEO of EPPM, commented: “We are extremely proud of the progress made by EPPM team with the Congolese authorities and very pleased to see this project come to fruition. It will not only produce 256GWh of electricity per year for the cities of Goma and Bukavu, but also reduce a major safety and environmental risk for the people living along the lake. EPPM relies on its expertise in engineering and construction of complex oil and gas projects in Africa and the Middle East to develop a project of this magnitude with a fundamental impact on the DRC and the Kivu region”.

Taher Bellasoued, Head of Kivu Power’s development, said: “Our close collaboration with the authorities involved in the development process of this project has enabled us to validate, step by step, all the technical, environmental, and economic characteristics of this first project in the DRC. We warmly thank the Congolese authorities for having made this public-private partnership possible and we look forward to launching the construction soon.”

About EPPM

EPPM is recognized as one of the major EPC contactors and project developer active in the Middle East and Africa, operating in Oil & Gas (midstream), Water Treatment, Renewable Energies and Industrial Plants.

EPPM offers to its clients a large range of services including engineering, project management, procurement, construction & supervision, commissioning & start-up as well as operating & maintenance services.

EPPM headquarters is based in Tunisia with worldwide subsidiaries in Algeria, Libya, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, KSA, UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Iraq and Oman.

Over the last 25 years of operation EPPM has shown a track record of successfully delivered projects in Engineering, EPCC (turnkey projects), EPS, PMC, O&M, as well as financing projects such as long-term BOT & BOO and leasing projects.