Nabilah Safira
TechInAfrica – A funding support from World Bank Group amounting to 142 Mn is supplying more electricity and wider access to Zanzibar.
The investment is consisting of a $117 million credit from IDA, a $22 million loan from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), and a $3 million CTF grant, according to a press release by World Bank Group.
Around 400,000 of the residents will be given access to electricity through the Zanzibar Energy Sector Acces and Transformation Project (Zesta), a collaboration between the Zanzibar Ministry of Water, Energy, and Minerals, and the Zanzibar Power Corporation (Zeco).
“Zanzibar made modest progress in reducing the population living below the poverty line since 2010 but, like everywhere else in the world, this achievement is being tested by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mara Warwick, World Bank Country Director.
“With a median age of 17 years and only 57 percent of citizens accessing electricity currently, investments in energy are urgently needed to contribute to improved human capital, remove constraints to more and better jobs, and enhance productivity.”
“ZESTA supports investments in renewable energy generation, electricity grid strengthening, and energy access scale-up to support Zanzibar’s targets towards universal electricity access and renewable energy development,” said Kabir Malik, World Bank Senior Economist, and Task Team Leader.
“These investments and institutional strengthening activities supported under the project will help lay the foundations for the future scale-up of renewable energy generation through private sector participation in Zanzibar,”
