March 30th 2017: Eranove, a leading public service manager and utilities provider in Central and West Africa and Emerging Capital Partners’ (ECP) investee company, was recently featured in African Business and La Tribune Afrique after the 20 March signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gabonese government. Eranove has agreed to finance, construct, and manage a drinking water distribution unit in the outskirts of Libreville. The facilities are estimated to have a production capacity of 140,000 cubic meters per day and will purify water from the Komo River.

The MoU represents an important advancement in the provision of drinking water in the country, with the Gabonese government working to meet the demands of a growing population. Water treatment and distribution infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is underdeveloped, and the population of Africa is predicted to double by 2050. The World Health Organization suggests that around 35% of SSA’s population lack access to drinking water, with only 5.5% of the 3,400 billion cubic meters per year of renewable water available being used.

The agreement is further testament to Eranove’s expertise in the sector. Eranove partnered with the Gabonese government in October 2016, together with the Gabonese Strategic Investment Fund (FGIS), in the signing of concessions contracts to design, construct, and operate two hydroelectric dams in Ngoulmendjim and Dibwangui. The projects, 73 megawatts and 15 megawatts, respectively, will increase utilities security in the country.

Eranove currently operates in Central and West Africa, notably in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, and is also present in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali. Eranove employs 8,500 people and has an overall estimated installed electricity capacity of 1,250 megawatts and an estimated drinking water production capacity of 423 million cubic meters serving 1.63 million electricity customers and 1.56 million water customers.

Attending the signing ceremony were the Gabonese Prime Minister Emmanuel Issoze Ngondet, Economic Minister Régis Immongault Tatagani, FGIS Managing Director, Serge Thierry Mickoto, ECP’s Co-CEO and Eranove Chairman, Vincent Le Guennou, Eranove’s Managing Director, Marc Albérola, and Eranove’s Independent Director, Mansour Mamadou Cama.

For more information please view the following articles: La Tribune Afrique and African Business.