Cotonou - The governments of the west African states of Benin and Togo plan to make costly improvements to the Adjaralla dam on the Mono River to boost their power supplies, a Beninese official said on Monday.
The modernisation of the dam and its hydroelectric plant will cost about $162-million dollars and increase its electricity production for the neighbouring countries to an annual 326 gigawatt-hours (GWH), the source said.
In 1998, Benin and Togo were plunged into power shortages affecting all sectors of their economies for several months because of drought that led to a fall in water levels in Ghana's Akosombo dam, the main source of supply for the two countries.
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The Adjaralla dam is about 40 years old and cannot make up for further shortfalls in supply, leading power authorities in Benin to warn that the risk of future shortages remains high.
Experts from the two nations and representatives of international institutions agreed on the development plan last week, the source said.
The modernisation work is scheduled to start in December.
The Electricity Community of Benin, which manages supply to both countries, has forecast that demand will rise to 1 125 GWH in Benin and 983 GWH in Togo by 2010.
They currently also obtain electricity from Ivory Coast. Electric power consumption in 2003 exceeded 570 GWH in both countries. - Sapa-AFP
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