45 years of AFD in Guinea: focusing on two investments in the energy and waste sectors

45 years ago, the French Development Agency (AFD) took its first steps in Guinea in a context of political emancipation and serious economic challenges. This collaboration had one mission: to give a new face to development finance, both in Conakry and other cities in this West African country. The French institution appears to have made the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) its specific area of ​​intervention.

It is helping Guinea implement two flagship projects. The first is the construction of a €50 million solid waste technical storage center (CET) in Baritodé in the rural commune of Kouria. The facility, work on which started in 2023 and will last until 2029, will be built on a 100-hectare area. This is a concrete response to the overflow of the current Conakry landfill by sorting and recycling waste (into biogas and fertilizers) to improve sanitation (SDG6).

The second flagship project supported by AFD focuses on Sustainable Development Goal 7, in particular on Energy for All. The group led by Rémy Rioux loaned the Government of Guinea €50 million in 2019 for the National Program to Improve Access to Affordable Electricity. The loan enabled the revitalization and construction of 20 km of mixed lines and 87 km of low-voltage lines, the construction of 43 medium- and low-voltage power stations with a capacity of 43,630 kVA, the construction of 20,000 connections and the installation of 20,000 prepaid meters.

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However, AFD is not the only dynamic development partner in the subregion. Over the next few years, it will have to cope with the dynamics of the German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Other institutions are also taking up the challenge of financing the MDGs on the African continent.

Benoit-Ivan Wansi