Volopooor be: 3 years that cost cash and dearly

Gné? I asked our favorite AI the following question: “Tell me the history of the Volobe hydroelectric project in Madagascar,” and it came up with the following timeline, among other things.

Chronology and Key Dates

• December 2016: Initial signing of the Volobe B2 project.
• 2017: Start of technical, socioeconomic, and environmental studies conducted by the consortium and specialized firms.
• August 2019: Visit by a government delegation to the dam construction site for an assessment.
• December 2022: Environmental permit granted for the project.May 2023: Signing of concession and power purchase agreements.August 2023: The Compagnie Générale d’Hydroélectricité de Volobe (CGHV) begins its physical installation on the Volobe site with the laying of the foundation stone for the representative office.

  September 2024: Financial close of the project is postponed to 2025.

  April 2025: EDF announces its equity investment in the project. The new shareholders’ agreement is signed.

• April 2025: The financial closing date is extended to June 2026.
• June 2025 (current): Construction work and preparation activities are underway.

And like a big gap in the middle of a resume, a recruiter would have no choice but to ask: “But dear sir, what did you do from August 2019 to December 2022″?

And then, complete mumbling. What do I say? That my predecessor led this project, and I don’t like that?

That my secret advisor in Iavoloha didn’t like the terms of the contract?

That I’m a big procrastinator?

That it’s a bit of a sham? It doesn’t matter, io izy io, ny asa tsy vita no hifampitsarana, and you’re paying dearly for this big three-year gap today: there’s almost no power left in Antananarivo as we speak.

Power outages that are literally killing the entire economy and Malagasy society. A country without electricity in 2025? A direct return to the Middle Ages, right?

This column is the 6th monthly energy booster shot for this year 2025.

All equally useless because a booster shot serves to prevent illness. Not to cure it.

Unfortunately, the problem was already there. 3 years of loafing around, once again, which are paying off dearly today.

So, the project began in 2016… and we’re almost 10 years later… and the worst part is that with the various crises that have followed one another and the current global context, construction prices must have doubled or even tripled between 2016 and today?

Yes, Gemini, tell me everything?

Initial cost of the project.

Historically, the first cost estimates for the Volobe project were around €300 million in 2018, then around €440 million before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cost reassessment today.

Today, the project cost is estimated at around €600 million. This increase is mainly explained by:

• The global rise in construction costs and interest rates since the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The complexity of the project and the in-depth studies conducted on technical, environmental, and social aspects, which may have revealed additional needs.

Multiplied by 2 then, kay 😳

That’s tough, huh? The “I’ll do tomorrow what I can do today” approach is therefore very expensive. Ataovy ihany io mangatakandro poor io 🤣

Uh, I have a doubt now… Multiplied by 2 in €… but our currency isn’t the euro but the ariary 🤣 So let’s do our little calculations again.

€300 million in 2018 with an average exchange rate of 3,900 at the time, gives us 1,170 billion Argentine pesos.

€600 million in 2025 with an average exchange rate of 5,000 today, gives us… 3,000 billion Argentine pesos.

So, indeed, a threefold increase in 10 years. Procrastination is costly in all areas.