France Development Agency’s grant is an additional capacity that will help Ethiopia achieve the plans in institutional and infrastructure development in urban areas as well as in building its renewable energy by supporting Tendaho Geothermal Exploration Project.
ADDIA ABABA (MoFEC)–Two grant agreements, totaling 18 million Euros (~569.6 million Birr), were signed on 21st June 2018, between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the France Development Agency (AFD) on a ceremony held at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation (MoFEC).
According to the financing agreements, the Government of France through AFD has committed 10 million Euros for Urban Institutional and Infrastructure Development Program (UIIDP) and additional 8 million Euros for the Tendaho Geothermal Exploration Project.
As it is stated on the agreement, the main objective of the UIIDP is to the provide performance-based grants to urban local governments and administrations for eligible investments and support to achieve program results at the regional level on capacity building, financial audit, procurement audit and environmental as well as social safeguards audits. The program will have an additional 73 cities to the existing 44 cities making a total of 117 cities that will participate in the program.
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In addition to UIIDP’s commitment, the French government has allotted 8 million Euros fund for Tendaho Geothermal Project which has an aim of extension of the shallow reservoir by the drilling of up to six step-out wells , exploration of the deep reservoir by the initial drilling of two deep directional wells till a depth of 2500 meters and strengthening of Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) and Geological Survey of Ethiopia (GSE) capacities for implementation of geothermal drilling activities.
State Minister of MoFEC, Ato Admassu Nebebe, on behalf of the Ethiopian Government and Mr. Frédéric Bontems, Ambassador of France to Ethiopia and Mr. Ignace Monkam-Daverat, Director General of AFD in Addis Ababa, co- signed the financing agreements.