2024-01-08 23:24:51
In Togo, French company Sunna Design won a €40 million contract to supply and install 50,000 solar street lights in rural areas far from the electricity grid. More than half have already been deployed in the Savannes and Kara regions. Report in a village near the Beninese border, having benefited from this public electrification plan, initiated by the Togolese government.
From 6 p.m., night falls quickly on the village of Kadjanga. This is the time when the lights of the solar street lights start to turn on. Installed at the end of 2022, officially inaugurated by the Togolese president in April 2023, public lighting has changed the lives of residents – and in particular that of the sellers installed at the entrance to the community – Sudou Maimounatou is the one of them: “ The change is clearly visible: before, from 6 p.m., women who sell in the market had to stop their activities, whereas now, they continue until 8 p.m. And then, when you want to leave the house, you no longer have the fear of reptiles, so even at night, the women can take their basin and fetch water from the village pump. »
Above the well, on a strategic crossing, near a military dam or near a school, all the solar street lights were installed in a reasoned manner, thanks to infrastructure mapping carried out beforehand by the start-up French Mitsio Motu. Julie Nicolas Lawson, Sunna Design manager at Togo : « So, as a result, the criteria are that you have to be more than two kilometers from the electricity network and what is preferred are health centers, schools, water points. There were also security issues, as we know that there is a lot of traffic at the borders, so it was also a request, even from populations elsewhere, to be able to illuminate the borders. »
70 connected street lights in Kadjanga
The 70 connected street lamps are the pride of Kadjanga. This village had already benefited in the past from the installation of a few solar street lights financed by a Chinese bank, but this first experience came to an end, reports President Yoma Karatchi: “ It wasn’t even in the heart of the village, it was in a non-specific location, like that, and the lighting was dim too. When they put this out, it hadn’t even been a year. »
To avoid this type of breakdown, Sunna Design teams are also responsible for ensuring the maintenance of their street lamps for twelve years after their installation. An essential approach to guarantee the sustainability of this project which has revitalized the local economy, according to Keleou Massama, the representative of the village chief: “ People who are far away come to visit our market. As we are under lighting, the market is lively and people are well off in their household. Now, the students have taken advantage of these floor lamps to put their boards against the walls for their lesson review. »
So far, the company Sunna Design has deployed nearly 29,000 electric street lights in rural areas of Togo.
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