Cameroon Orders CFA47.5 Million Audit Before Reviving Bini à Warak Hydropower Project

Cameroon has awarded a CFA47.5 million contract to establish how much was spent and how much work was completed under the original Bini à Warak hydropower project. The audit will give the government a consolidated technical and financial picture before it proceeds with a new development plan for the project.

Water and Energy Minister Gaston Eloundou Essomba awarded the contract to the Brainstorm Consulting SARL/Moore Stephen CA/Labogext consortium on September 11, 2026. The technical and financial audit must be completed within three months.

The consultants will examine work completed since the project was initially awarded to China’s Sinohydro Corporation Limited in 2013. They will assess physical progress, investments, expenditures, financing and contractual commitments that remain from the original project structure.

The audit will also compare amounts spent with work actually completed on the ground. The terms of reference require the consultants to review invoices submitted to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) or the Cameroonian government, determine how much was paid and identify any outstanding amounts or payments without corresponding work. The government wants a consolidated assessment of the project’s technical, financial and contractual position before Bini à Warak proceeds under a new structure.

A Project Stalled After Chinese Financing

Bini à Warak was originally designed as a 75 MW hydropower plant to strengthen electricity supply in Cameroon’s Adamawa, North and Far North regions.

The construction contract was awarded to Sinohydro Corporation Limited in February 2013. Cameroon later secured $302.94 million in financing from ICBC in 2016 to support the project.

The project failed to follow its initial schedule, and financing was suspended in 2019. By then, preparatory work had started, expenditures had been incurred and several contractual commitments remained unresolved. The new audit will document that financial and technical legacy.

Savannah Energy Plans a New Project Structure

The Cameroonian government has meanwhile started efforts to revive Bini à Warak with Savannah Energy. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding in April 2023 to develop the project under an independent power producer model.

The project no longer follows its original configuration. Savannah Energy now plans a complex that combines hydropower with solar photovoltaic capacity. The British developer has cited total capacity of up to 95 MW, including 40 MW of solar power.

The government’s 2027-2029 Priority Investment Program, however, lists capacity at 90 MW and estimates the project cost at CFA393 billion. The project will use a public-private partnership model, with implementation scheduled between 2029 and 2033.

The CFA393 billion figure represents a planned investment rather than financing already secured. Savannah Energy still plans to complete the project’s financing and bring in new investors before construction starts.

CFA985 Million Paid to Affected Communities

Some preparatory work has already resumed on the ground. From June 26 to 29, 2026, about CFA985 million was paid to 736 people affected by the project across 19 villages in the Ngan-Ha district of the Vina department. The compensation covers property within areas designated for the site access road, the electricity transmission line and related infrastructure. The payments came nearly a decade after the initial identification of affected residents.

The contract awarded to Brainstorm Consulting, Moore Stephen and Labogext marks another step in the restructuring of Bini à Warak. Before the new project proceeds, the government wants to determine exactly what the previous development cost, what work was completed and which financial obligations remain outstanding.

Amina Malloum