The AES Corp. announced that its subsidiary, AES SONEL, plans to expand its electricity network in Cameroon, more than doubling the number of people it currently serves over the next 15 years and extending its network to previously unserved parts of the country. The improvements are part of an amended concession agreement AES SONEL has reached with the Government of Cameroon. AES also announced that AES SONEL secured a $340 million (€260 million) financing package—one of the largest ever provided to a privatized utility in Sub-Saharan Africa—to finance a majority of these system improvements.

AES SONEL expects to add approximately 50,000 new electricity connections each year over the next 15 years. The company also plans to upgrade its existing transmission, distribution and generation facilities. AES SONEL is the sole electric utility in Cameroon and currently generates and distributes electricity to more than 528,000 customers in the country.

“This is the most ambitious expansion program for Cameroon’s electricity sector. We expect to more than double the number of people we serve in Cameroon and to provide electricity to thousands of individuals who never had it before,” said John McLaren, President of AES’s Europe, CIS and Africa region. “AES SONEL is committed to improving Cameroon’s energy sector, which is essential to the country’s continued economic development and we’re pleased to move forward with the government under our amended concession agreement.”