The National Water & Electricity Company (NAWEC) says the new Brikama power substation will feed a total of 18MW of electrical output into the national grid.

The company believes the new plant will boost the country’s electricity supply and stabilise the longstanding energy problem.

The multinational company MAN Energy Solutions has been granted the contract to supply two of the engines for the Brikama power plant.

Waldemar Wiesner, head of power plant sales, at MAN Energy Solutions recently told ESI Africa, a newspaper for Africa’s electricity sector, that the Brikama power plant will increase the country’s electricity output by 20%.

“As in many African countries, a reliable energy supply is one of the most urgent challenges in The Gambia. Only just under half the population has a reliable access to electricity. With the power plant in Brikama, we are now increasing the country’s generation capacity by roughly 20%,” said Mr. Wiesner.

“To safeguard the population’s energy supply, NAWEC trusts the generation technology provided by MAN Energy Solutions for what is already the fourth time. After completing the new plant in Brikama, MAN is providing a total of 42MW across the country, which is a third of the country’s total capacity.”

The Gambia’s overall generation capacity of 100MW still falls short of the demand of the 2.1 million inhabitants.