FREETOWN, 16th October 2026 – President Julius Maada Bio this morning visited the Nant Power project site at Kissy in the east end of Freetown and received an update from the project’s leadership on progress made so far.
The President said the country is firmly on track to deliver sustainable energy that drives transformative development.
“This morning, I visited the Nant Power project and received a briefing from its leadership on the progress to date. We are firmly on track to deliver sustainable energy that drives transformative development. Once completed, the project will deliver cleaner, more reliable energy, supporting economic growth and strengthening our national energy security. Our partnership with the United States has been critical to its success,” President Bio posted on social media.
According to State House Communications Director, Myk Berewa, the project is expected to generate between 105 MW and 108.4 MW of electricity using combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) technology.
Once completed, the plant is projected to supply around 60% of Freetown’s electricity demand and approximately 77% of the Western Area’s grid capacity.
The Nant Power Project is Sierra Leone’s first large-scale, utility-scale Independent Power Producer (IPP) and the country’s first gas-to-power plant. Construction was officially launched on 18th June 2024, after more than 10 years of development since TCQ Power first initiated it in 2013.
Valued at about US$418 million, the project nearly doubles Sierra Leone’s current national generation capacity, which is currently estimated at around 100-150MW available power.
It is being developed by CECA SL Generation Limited, a consortium of TCQ Power Ltd, Anergi Group, and BB Energy. Construction is being carried out by Indian firm Shapoorji Pallonji using high-efficiency Siemens technology, with fuel to be supplied as LPG/Natural Gas imported from the United States by BB Energy.
Financing is led by the United States. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) approved up to US$412 million in financing and political risk insurance and has disbursed a US$292 million loan, with an additional US$40 million from the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID). The developers provided US$85 million in equity.
The project has a 22-year Power Purchase Agreement with the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) and the Government of Sierra Leone.
According to latest reports, construction is now about 68% complete, with first power targeted for Q3 2027, with commercial operations expected by March 2027. The plant is designed to replace expensive, high-polluting diesel generators and Karpowership, reduce grid losses, and provide stable baseload power.
The project is also separate from the US$480 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact which the U.S. is also supporting for Sierra Leone’s power sector. Both projects are part of the goal set by Sierra Leone and the U.S. to create 1 Gigawatt of generation capacity over the next decade.
