By Dipo Olowookere
In order to accelerate power generation in Madagascar, Siemens has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government.
The deal is to cooperate and identify measures to fast track power generation in the country and work towards increasing capacity by an additional 300MW by 2019.
The agreement was signed together with project partners TSK and in the presence of Günter Nooke, the German Chancellor’s Personal Representative for Africa and the German ambassador to Madagascar, Harald Gehrig, in the Ministry of Water, Energy and Hydrocarbons.
Other key aspects of the agreement include an assessment of the electrical grid based on the new power generation sources; applying financing concepts that will ensure the long-term sustainability of these infrastructure initiatives; and creating opportunities for local upskilling and job creation during construction and operation.
Currently, Madagascar has 676MW of installed generation capacity and it is estimated that access to electricity is around 20 percent.
Opportunities exist to increase the installed capacity through hydropower and explore oil reserves to meet the targets set by government.
“The primary goal of this agreement is to increase national power generating capacity and to connect the local population to the power grid. A reliable and extensive power supply system is the fundamental prerequisite for economic growth, says Sabine Dall’Omo, Siemens CEO for Southern and Eastern Africa.
“Siemens wants to support the sustainable development of Madagascar,” says Dall’Omo. “We are a company that invests for the long-term, and the opportunity for industrialization in Africa is now. With the right partner Africa’s economies can develop to their full potential.”
“Improving the country’s energy mix will strengthen the well-established agriculture and mining industry and emerging tourism, textile industries,” adds Dall’Omo.
One of the short-term initiatives is the installation of a Siemens 44-megawatt aero-derivative gas turbine (SGT-A45) for mobile power generation in Antananarivo. This unit is packaged for rapid deployment and can be installed in less than two weeks. It is particularly beneficial for urgent power needs or in regions with less developed infrastructure making it ideal for Madagascar.
Siemens promotes economic growth in Africa through far-reaching initiatives in the fields of Power, Transportation, Manufacturing and partners with customers to realize the full potential that Digitalization brings to these industries.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Business Post Contributor