Freetown, Sierra Leone – Alhaji Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, Chairman of the Energy Governance Coordination Group in Sierra Leone, has disclosed that the nation is obligated to pay Karpowership $90 million between January and June this year.
By the conclusion of the contract, total payments are projected to exceed $300 million.
In an interview with AYV’s “Wake Up Sierra Leone” earlier today, Dr. Yumkella emphasized President Dr. Julius Maada Bio’s commitment to breaking the cycle of reliance on emergency power solutions.
He announced ongoing repairs to national generators at Kingtom and Black Hall Road, aiming to supply an additional 10 megawatts to the grid by January, thanks to assistance from Japan.
“We are repairing our own generators at Kingtom and Black Hall Road,” Dr. Yumkella stated. “Earlier, I promised the people of Sierra Leone that we would try to get Kingtom to start pumping power by January. Indeed, with the help of the Japanese, we have repaired the two generators there, we are providing fuel, and we will begin to pump in 10 megawatts.”
On Tuesday, the Government of Sierra Leone initiated new negotiations with Karpowership to ensure the continued supply of electricity to the capital, Freetown. Leading the discussions, Dr. Yumkella met with representatives from the Turkish company to deliberate on the future of the power arrangement.
Karpowership’s representative, Emre Durmusoglu, expressed optimism about the negotiations, emphasizing the company’s commitment to assisting Sierra Leone in addressing its energy challenges.
These developments underscore the government’s dual approach: managing existing financial obligations to external power providers while investing in domestic energy infrastructure to achieve long-term energy independence.
