Barack Obama to unveil a "Power Africa" worth $7 billion

Johannesburg, June 30: US President Barack Obama on Sunday, will unveil a plan worth $7 billion over the next five years, to develop African power networks so there are much lesser electricity cuts and blackouts that have become a negative point in bringing business investment to the counrty, the White House said.

The initiative, dubbed "Power Africa", aims to double access to power in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than two-thirds of the population is without electricity, a statement said, reported AFP.

"Power Africa will build on Africa's enormous power potential, including new discoveries of vast reserves of oil and gas, and the potential to develop clean geothermal, hydro, wind and solar energy," it said.

It said countries involved in the plan included Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania, which have "ambitious goals" in electric power generation.

According to the International Energy Agency, sub-Saharan Africa will need investment of more than $300 billion to achieve universal electricity access by 2030, it noted.

Obama will announce the plan during a visit to Cape Town, which will leverage existing cash and private finance.

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