Cameroon’s 500 MW Kikot Dam Seeks Financing With CFA748 Billion Cost Gap Unresolved

Kikot-Mbebe Hydro Power Company (KHPC) is bringing financial institutions and development partners together in Yaoundé on September 15, 2026, to discuss financing for the 500 MW Kikot-Mbebe hydropower project. But prospective lenders face an initial uncertainty: two documents put the project’s cost at CFA872 billion and CFA1.62 trillion, with no public explanation so far that reconciles the CFA748 billion difference.

KHPC, owned equally by the Cameroonian government and French energy group EDF, says the meeting will present the project, examine its financial structure and continue discussions aimed at “mobilizing the resources necessary for its implementation.” The wording describes a consultation and fundraising phase rather than a firm financing commitment from lenders.

Publicly available information does not specify the exact amount that needs to be raised, the proposed split between equity and debt, financing terms, potential state guarantees or the tariff at which the electricity would be sold.

Two Estimates Separated by CFA748 Billion

The government’s most recent published figure appears in the 2027-2029 Economic and Budget Programming Document, presented to Parliament on July 3 and published by the Budget Directorate on July 6, 2026. An annex puts the total cost of the Kikot development and its associated transmission lines at CFA872 billion. The document schedules the project for implementation through a public-private partnership between 2028 and 2032.

That figure differs from the CFA1.62 trillion cited in a letter to the minister of Water and Energy from KHPC Board Chairman Ahmat Tom following the company’s 14th board meeting, held in Paris in September 2025. That estimate was CFA970 billion higher, or nearly 150% above the roughly CFA650 billion announced during the project’s early stages.

The difference between the two more recent estimates is CFA748 billion. Based on the available documents, it is not possible to determine whether the CFA872 billion figure supersedes the CFA1.62 trillion estimate or whether the two amounts reflect different project scopes, reference prices or financing structures.

The uncertainty completely changes the comparison with Nachtigal. On a simple installed-capacity basis, Kikot would cost CFA1.74 billion per MW under the CFA872 billion estimate, but CFA3.24 billion per MW based on the CFA1.62 trillion figure. The cost announced for Nachtigal in 2018 was €1.2 billion, or about CFA787.1 billion, for 420 MW — CFA1.87 billion per MW according to EDF and the International Finance Corporation.

Kikot would therefore appear about 7% cheaper per MW under the CFA872 billion estimate, but 73% more expensive under the CFA1.62 trillion figure. These ratios do not provide a complete comparison between the two projects: Kikot notably includes a storage dam and a 40-kilometer, 400 kV transmission line, while Nachtigal is a run-of-river hydropower plant. They nevertheless show why the reference cost needs to be clarified before financing can be finalized.

Companies Shortlisted, but Contracts Not Yet Awarded

KHPC says it completed the detailed preliminary design in 2025, obtained its environmental compliance certificate in 2026 and shortlisted companies for the civil works, electromechanical and power transmission packages. Land acquisition remains underway, while discussions over the concession agreement have not been completed.

The shortlisting does not amount to contract awards. In a notice published on November 19, 2025, KHPC said shortlisted companies would submit bids only after the tender documents were made available. At the time, the company expected financial close, which must precede the main construction work, no earlier than the second half of 2027.

The timeline has already shifted. When KHPC was created in September 2023, EDF said construction would begin in 2025 and the project would enter service in 2030. The 2027-2029 Economic and Budget Programming Document now schedules construction between 2028 and 2032.

Flood Flow and Seventh Turbine Still Under Discussion

Ahmat Tom’s letter also points to technical disagreements between EDF and ISL, an adviser to the Cameroonian government. According to the letter, ISL considers the selected flood-flow estimate too low and proposes raising the project’s capacity from 500 MW to 583 MW by adding a seventh turbine to meet peak electricity demand.

According to the same document, EDF considers that reopening these technical parameters at a late stage would alter the project’s design and could increase both costs and delays. The letter does not include the technical studies needed to determine which position is justified. The board chairman recommends further discussions and, if no agreement is reached, referring the matter to a panel of dam experts.

The confidence of prospective lenders also depends on conditions in Cameroon’s electricity sector. On June 29, 2026, Finance Minister Louis Paul Motaze said many of the prospective partners for Kikot were already involved in Nachtigal and wanted assurances that the electricity produced would be paid for. He also announced an audit of the Kikot project and reported tensions between KHPC’s board and executive management in an interview published by Cameroon Tribune.

The statement announcing the September 15 meeting does not say which project cost is being presented to lenders — CFA872 billion or CFA1.62 trillion — or provide an update on the audit. Before financial close, KHPC will also need to settle the project’s technical configuration, the electricity purchase tariff and the allocation of risks among the project company, the electricity buyer and the state.

Brice R. Mbodiam