The Chinese company Sinohydro has started to build the 112 MW Gribo-Popoli hydropower plant on the Sassandra River in Ivory Coast. The construction of the US$307m facility is expected to be completed within 40 months (commissioning in early 2021). Once completed, Ivory Coast's hydropower capacity will reach 991 MW and generate around 3,580 GWh/year.
Sinohydro has a significant presence in Ivory Coast and commissioned the 275 MW Soubré hydroelectric power station worth US$572m on the Sassandra river in July 2017. The Gribo-Popoli project will be located 15 km downstream of the Soubré facility and the Sassandra river is a key location for the construction of three power stations projects: the 112 MW Gribo-Popoli facility, the 150 MW Boutoubré and the 246 MW Louga plants.
Since 2012, Ivory Coast has launched a power generation capacity development plan, aiming to reach 4 GW of installed capacity by 2020 and more than 6 GW by 2030. In July 2016, riots broke out in several major cities of the country due to an increase in electricity prices, justified by the burden of state subsidies. With demand growing at a rate of 10% per year, the domestic supply of electricity (75% thermal) needs more than ever to diversify its sources of supply.