January.22.2021
Version française : Orrick conseil du consortium attributaire du marché relatif au projet Initiative Essor en République Démocratique du Congo
Orrick advised a consortium comprising Gridworks, ERANOVE and AEE Power in the development and financing of the Essor AE2 project, which was awarded in December 2020 for the construction of power generation plants and distribution grids in the Democratic Republic of Congo. These mini grids will be powered by electricity generated by solar panels and battery storage and will allow hundreds of thousands of people living in the cities of Gemena, Bumba and Isiro to access cleaner and more affordable electricity.
This project will require funding of approximately $100 million, provided through equity, external funding and grant capital.
For this project, power grid developer and investor Gridworks, a subsidiary of the CDC Group, teamed up with Eranove, an industrial group that operates and develops water and power utilities across Africa, and with AEE Power, a power developer and construction company with a long-term presence in the DRC.
Orrick's team, which has been involved during the tender stage and will now assist the consortium on the project implementation, includes partner Yves Lepage and of counsel Foucaud Jaulin.