Benin chooses Vinci Energies for electrical project

Vinci Energies has signed a €292 million (US$350 million) contract for the construction of electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure facilities in the Republic of Benin in Africa.

The company was awarded the project by the West African country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Energy.

The contract comprises the construction of 500km of extra-high and high voltage overhead and underground power lines, and more than 1,000 km of medium and low voltage distribution networks.

Vinci Energies will also connect several thousand homes to the Benin’s electrical infrastructure and will build seven extra-high voltage transformer stations and expand the capacity of four of the country’s existing high voltage stations.

Arnaud Grison, Chairman and CEO of Vinci Energies, said, “In addition to our full mobilisation on the ground to ensure the technical success of this project, we have committed to training 300 young technicians while it is being completed.

“We are very happy to be embarking upon this collaboration with the Benin authorities and with local communities, which will pave the way for a permanent foothold in Benin and will support the local economy with the jobs created. This is, in fact, the basis of our companies’ development model.”

Local teams will benefit from training and transfer of expertise with the support of Vinci Energies’ French and Moroccan subsidiaries.

The three-year project will involve around 900 of Vinci’s local employees. As part of the project the local teams will be provided with additional training and support from the company’s French and Moroccan subsidiaries.