ALGIERS – Minister of Energy Noureddine Boutarfa and Malian Minister of Energy and Water Malick Alhousseïni on Monday in Algiers examined the possibilities of cooperation in energy sector.
During a meeting which is part of the energy cooperation agreement, signed by the Algerian-Malian joint committee in November 2016 in Bamako, the two officials broached the means for the implementation of this cooperation, so Mali can benefit from the Algerian experience.
In a statement to the press, Boutarfa recalled that Algeria was present in Mali through several actions in the energy sector, notably.
He also highlighted Algeria’s capacities to put its experience and expertise at the disposal of Mali, stressing the geographic similarities between the two countries for the construction and the management of voltaic and wind energy plants, and the development of electrification networks as well.
In this regard, the two countries’ technical teams will hold a meeting to draft a roadmap on the implementation of the projects planned under the cooperation agreement.
For his part, Alhousseini said that his meeting with Boutarfa aimed at identifying concrete mechanisms for the achievement of a vast Malian programme to supply the most remote populations with electricity by 2020.
In this sense, he highlighted the importance of cooperation with Algeria to develop power plants in northern Mali.
Among these projects, the Malian minister mentioned 40 MW hybrid plants in Gaoua, 40 MW plant in Timbuktu and project of 200 MW in the rest of the country.
Noting that the electricity coverage rate in Mali is only 36%, Alhousseini said that the objective was to move from a deficit situation to the status of power exporter, thanks to a better exploitation of the resources available in his country.
Source: Boutarfa, Malian counterpart examine energy cooperation
