The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group approved, on 12 November 2025, financing of $68.26 million for Mali to implement the Bamako 225 KV North Loop Project (PBNB).
The project benefits from loans of $35.27 million from the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional lending window, and $18.99 million from the Transition Support Facility. The Climate Investment Fund is providing a $5 million loan and a $6.8 million grant, with an additional $2.2 million grant coming from the Green Climate Fund.
This total commitment represents 36.13 percent of the total project cost, estimated at $190 million. Cofinancing is provided by the West African Development Bank (27.36 percent), the Islamic Development Bank (32.91 per cent), and the Malian government (3.6 percent).
The initiative addresses critical challenges in the electricity sub-sector, notable for low access (55.8 per cent nationally in 2023: 86.6 percent in urban areas and 30.4 percent in rural areas), an average annual increase in demand of 10 per cent, insufficient production capacity of 903.6 megawatts in 2023 (more than 54 percent of which was thermal), losses hitting 22 percent (including technical losses of 10 percent), dependence on fuel imports, and financial pressure requiring state subsidies.
“This project will help safeguard Bamako’s electricity supply and guarantee access to reliable, sustainable and modern energy services at an affordable cost,” said Lamin Barrow, the Bank Group’s Director General for West Africa. “It should also boost agricultural value chains and employment for young people and women.”
The project will entail the construction of a 225-kilovolt double-circuit power line between the Kodialani and Dialakorobougou substations, and two new 225/33-kilovolt substations in Safo and Kénié. It also involves the expansion of three existing substations (Kodialani, Kambila and Dialakorodougou) and the establishment of medium- and low-voltage lines to reconfigure the network and electrify new neighbourhoods. It will also connect 10,000 new households and productive users, install 2,000 smart meters for high-voltage customers, increase transmission capacity to 600 megawatts.
Around 320 temporary jobs (20 percent of which will be allocated to women) and 60 permanent jobs will be generated, and professional internships will be offered to 60 young graduates (half of whom will be female), improving their employability. Environmental and social measures will include public consultations, support to municipalities for land management, and training for stakeholders.
The project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.12 MtCO2e per year, representing a reduction of more than 50 per cent of the emissions that could be generated by the current energy system if the project were not implemented.
Scheduled to run for five years, from January 2026 to December 2030, the project will benefit the entire population of the Malian capital, Bamako.
