(Bloomberg) -- The Gabon Power Co. and France's Meridiam SAS signed a $179 million agreement to finance a hydropower plant in the central African nation.
The 35-megawatt Kinguele Aval facility will be built at a site 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of the capital, Libreville, the companies said in a joint emailed statement on Friday. It will provide enough power to generate about 13% of the city's electricity needs and eventually replace existing thermal output, saving more than 150,000 tons of carbon emissions per year, they said.
An estimated 800 jobs will be created during the construction period. The plant is expected to start generating power in 2024.
Gabon Power is owned by the nation's sovereign wealth fund. The central African nation is the second-smallest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
READ: Gabon Wants to Pioneer Funding Model to Protect Africa's Amazon
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