Eritrea invites bids for Hirgigo rehab work

Eritrea has issued a tender for the supply of spare parts and equipment for the rehabilitation of gensets and associated substations at its Hirgigo thermal power plant

The country’s Ministry of Energy and Mines, which is behind the tender, has requested bids to be received by 9th September 2025, according to documents published on the African Development Bank (AfDB) website.

The Hirgigo plant, which dates back to the late nineties, has long been one of Eritrea’s most important energy assets, although it was once extensively damaged as a result of conflict in the region around that time.

The power station is located 10 km from the city of Massawa on the Red Sea coast.

The Ministry appears to be utilising funds from the African Development Fund (ADF) — the AfDB’s concessional finance arm — initially allocated for the establishment of the 30 MW Dekemhare Solar PV project.

The Dekemhare project, part of the AfDB's commitment to clean energy on the continent, comprises a solar power plant with a battery energy storage system (BESS), and is currently being built by Chinese contractors, with delivery anticipated as early as the end of the year.

The Eritrean government received financing from ADF toward the cost of Dekemhare “and intends to apply part of the proceeds toward payments under the contract for the procurement of equipment for rehabilitation of substations” the Ministry noted in the documents on the AfDB website.

“The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MoEM) now invites sealed bids from eligible bidders [for the] supply of spare parts for [the] rehabilitation of genset 1 and 2 of Hirgigo power plant and of substations,” it noted.

The AfDB originally approved US$50mn in funding via ADF for the Dekemhare solar project in 2023.

The solar project also includes a 33/66 kV substation and a 66 kV transmission line connected to the existing link between East Asmara and Dekemhare, about 1km from the project site.

Dekemhare itself is located about 40km southeast of the Eritrean capital, Asmara.

At the time of the announcement in 2023, the AfDB said it is expected to contribute to increasing the country’s generation capacity and grid energy to 185 MW and 365 gigawatt-hours/year, respectively.

The bank said the project aims to “guide the transition from over-reliance on fossil fuels for power generation to renewable energy such as solar, wind and geothermal.”

Earlier this year, the AfDB and Eritrea signed a separate agreement for US$19.5mn in grant funding for a Desert to Power Eritrea 12 MW Mini Grid Project.

This is designed to support the rollout of mini-grids that will generate 12 MW of electricity across the regions of Teseney (6MW), Kerekebet (3MW), and Barentu (3MW).

Read more:

Eritrea dam project highlights water sector priorities 

Grant funding approved for 12MW Eritrea mini-grid project

ADF approves US5.5mn grant for phase two of flagship Desert-to-Power project