[translated from French]
A French company named Vergnet, based in Orleans, won a contract to build a wind farm of 120 MW in the region of Mekele, capital of Tigray, a province in the north, on the Eritrean border. The wind farm will be the largest in Africa.
The contract, amounting to 220 million euros, will be signed on October 9, during a visit to Addis Ababa by Anne-Marie Idrac, Secretary of State for Foreign Trade of France.
President Nicolas Sarkozy had the opportunity to give a boost to Vergnet during a visit to the region of Orleans, focusing this time on the assistance that the State should provide SMEs seeking contracts abroad.
The Ethiopian Woyanne [the ruling party in Ethiopia] authorities could not but be sensitive to this presidential indirect support when they chose Vergnet in competition with a Chinese company which provided the funding.
Vergnet appropriations will be guaranteed by Coface. The French Agency for Development (AFD) will provide a loan to the Ethiopian Woyanne authorities. Much of the energy supplied by the wind park will be exported to neighboring countries, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti.
French companies are also in line for other contracts, including the sale of six ATR aircraft, sub-power stations (Areva), radars for civil aviation … Lafarge will also invest 300 million euros in building a cement plant south of Addis Ababa.
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La France vend des éoliennes à l’Éthiopie
Pays de hauts plateaux balayés par les vents, l’Éthiopie parie sur l’énergie propre et sur le développement durable. C’est une entreprise française installée à Orléans, l’entreprise Vergnet, qui a remporté le contrat de construction d’une ferme éolienne de 120 MW dans la région de Mekele, capitale du Tigray, une province du nord du pays, en bordure de la frontière érythréenne. Ce parc d’éoliennes doit être le plus important d’Afrique.
Le contrat, d’un montant de 220 millions d’euros, va être signé, le 9 octobre, lors de la visite à Addis-Abeba d’Anne-Marie Idrac, secrétaire d’État chargée du Commerce extérieur. Nicolas Sarkozy avait eu l’occasion de donner un coup de pouce à l’entreprise Vergnet lors d’un passage dans la région d’Orléans, en insistant à cette occasion sur l’aide que l’État devait apporter aux PME qui cherchent des contrats à l’étranger. Les autorités éthiopiennes n’ont pu qu’être sensibles à ce soutien présidentiel indirect lorsqu’elles ont choisi Vergnet en concurrence avec une entreprise chinoise qui apportait le financement. Les crédits de Vergnet seront garantis par la Coface. L’Agence française pour le développement (AFD) fournira un prêt aux autorités éthiopiennes. Une grande partie de l’énergie fournie par le parc d’éoliennes sera exportée vers les pays voisins, Soudan, Érythrée, Djibouti.
Des entreprises françaises sont aussi sur les rangs pour d’autres contrats, dont la vente de six avions ATR, des sous-stations électriques (Areva), des radars pour l’aéronautique civile… Lafarge va, par ailleurs, investir 300 millions d’euros dans la construction d’une cimenterie au sud d’Addis Abeba.
12 thoughts on “France sells wind turbines to Ethiopia”
While the country is suffering in acute food shortage, is it wise to invest lots of money simply for the purpose of exporting electricity? I think Mekele region produces enough energy (Tekeze dam, which is expected to generate 300 MW of electricity, is almost completed, and for its immediate needs the region gets enough electricity from blue Nile, Tis Abay). It seems to me that it is better to use the money for irrigation projects!
C’est tres bien!
It is good to hear once a while such kind of news. It is good as long as the intation of the gov’t is for the good of the country and its people. I leave it to our pundits (Like Elias) to examine the motive of the gov’t, but any unbiased observer, just by reading the news should say nice move.
What do you say “Pundits”?
I am not a pundit, but I will let you know what I think. I don’t think there is anyone here against any form of development, if it is done on well founded study and also, if done fairly.
However, what we see time and time again is that all aid packages and capital investments seemed to flow and favor Tigray/Mekele. I agree with what the first writer commented, that there is no justification to build this so-called wind farm when there is an ongoing Tekeze project.
This is yet another testimony that Weyanes have no shame of building Tigray at the expense of the rest of Ethiopia.
Come on guys, who among you has any information about this project? So how can you determine the merits of it? Yes, there is a food problem, but ther are many problems in Ethiopia. To focus on just one and neglect all others is silly. Electricty is an important component of development. Wind power will mean less reliance on wood as fuel. And that will mean less deforestation. And that will mean less desertification. And that will mean less drought and less famine. Development needs imagination and a vision… not simply being negative.
“…… Lafarge will also invest 300 million euros in building a cement plant south of Addis Ababa.” Development is good and benefits the whole country by adding more energy to the national grid. I am only sorry for those who will live around the wind mill due the noise polition.
It seems that rain became scarse and electricity demands increase. In this situation, if you wish to irrigate, producing energy with wind turbines seems to be a good solution.
FOR Anonymouth,va te faire foutre avec ces salles races de francais,et ce fils de pute de Sarkozy.D’une maniere ou du n’autre c’a vas pas resoudre la crise economique,des colons francais,et tes tigres un jour il vont la cracher,ils ont vole le peuple ethiopians.ils seront detruit avec,bientot,on va assister a l’impuissance de tes protecteurs on va voir qui va te sauver,s’est pas les armes qui decide,va voir mogadisho imbecile heureux.
Bandits like Tazabi appear to lack the bits of a human mind-set to think and see things around. Tazabi, what do you think of the cement project to be constructed by some 80million euro higher in oromia/south regions? Tigray is Ethiopia’s state and Tigrayans are our brothers. Forgot???
Shame people like you willnot have a place.
Cheers,
akaki zeraf,
I can see through your outburst and your sensitivity, which is a trademark of a decayed weyane tactic. Your attempt can be just summed as “nice try’, but beneath all that, it is absurd and laughable.
If there is any bandit here, it is you and the weyane bandits who are pillaging Ethiopian resources. If you are blinded to see the inequities and the excess focus on Tigray, then no one can help you to open your eyes. But for the rest of Ethiopians it is an open secret.
It is obvious you are a supporter of the weyane racist bandit government. By the way, that description fits them well, and you, by association, since you may be a beneficiary of the loot.
Yes, people like me have no place with bandits. My place is with the rest of Ethiopians who expose the looting of the weyanes are engaged in. The real shame is rif rafs like you have no conscious at all to side with the majority of Ethiopians. Then again, this is too much to expect of a narrow, ethnic barbarian like you.
The project will creat job, from minimum to the maximeum.
Guys, we only have the news and the news doesn’t tell why the gov’t choose the place in Tigray. May be it is because the company from France suggested the place because it is the most windy place in Ethiopia. May be it is because as some of you suggested, the gov’t is favouring Tigray. Let just start from the things we agree. It is just a good news to hear before analyzing the motive of the gov’t. Then when we get more information we will start blaming or applauding the gov’t. That is how educated citzins of a country should respond for such a news. It is not mature when two persons, who claim they love thier country and just met in a website insult each other.
Grow up!