Efforts to secure a supposed final solution to the energy problem in The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea Conakry are at an advanced stage, a report by the Gambia River Basin Development Organisation, OMVG, revealed.

The report, which was presented at a sensitization workshop organized by the Department of State for Water Resources, held at the Palm Grove Hotel, revealed that the process to establish two hydroelectric power generating stations is already in progress and that when ready, the stations would be able to supply sufficient electricity to the four countries sharing the project.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Justino Viera, Executive Secretary of OMVG, disclosed that one of the hydroelectric stations situated in Sambangalou, Senegal, has an installed capacity of 128 MW, while the other in Kaleta in Guinea has an installed capacity of 240MW.

He also reported that the construction of the interconnection between the electricity networks of the four countries of the OMVG, stretching over 1677KM of power transmission line in 225KV and 15 transforming sub-stations is already underway.

Declaring the workshop opened, Suwareh Jabai, Deputy Permanent Secretary Department of State for Fisheries and Natural Resources, said that when completed, the project would bring a lasting solution to energy problems in the country.

It could be noted that the first phase of the ADB- funded hydropower interconnection project study was conducted between 2002 and 2004 and the second phase in October 2005, aimed at providing renewable energy at low cost for West African countries.