Sierra Leone gets $480m funding to solve power supply crisis

The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US state development fund, has extended a $480-million five-year grant to Sierra Leone to provide reliable and affordable electricity to 4.6 million people, the fund said.

Only about 30% of the West African country's population has access to electricity, dropping to less than 5% of people in rural areas.

"This grant will transform the energy infrastructure in Sierra Leone and unleash immense investment opportunities and private sector growth in Sierra Leone," President Julius Maada Bio said in a statement on X social media.

The deal includes three projects to improve the coverage and reliability of the power network and boost the sector's sustainability, the fund said in a statement on Friday.

In April, Sierra Leone's energy minister resigned over a weeks-long electricity crisis linked to tens of millions of dollars in unpaid debt to energy providers.

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