Financial close has been achieved for a 420MW hydropower project in Cameroon.

The €1.26 billion (£1.13bn) Nachtigal hydropower facility reached full funding on the 24th December – the total debt package of the project totals €916 million (£822m).

The Nachtigal Hydro Power Company (NHPC) will now start to build a run-of-the-river hydropower station on the Sanaga River in Cameroon.

It has announced that following the financial close, groundworks and civil engineering of the project will soon begin.

The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund has provided a €50 million (£44.9m) loan over 18 years – the fund’s Executive Director, Emilio Cattaneo, said: “Nachtigal is a big project that will help transform the economy of Cameroon.

“It will improve living conditions for people across the country and deliver many decades of clean, green power.”