Marrakech – Morocco-based engineering firm Cegelec has launched a major energy infrastructure project in Guinea. A subsidiary of VINCI Energies, Cegelec was originally formed in 1989 as a French electrical engineering company and was acquired by VINCI in 2010.
The firm has maintained a presence in Morocco since 1946 and operates specialized divisions across Casablanca, Rabat, Fez, Marrakech, Tangier, and Agadir, with operations spanning some 30 countries across energy, transport, and electrical infrastructure.
Operating through its subsidiary VINCI Energies Guinée, Cegelec will deliver a package of power transmission and generation infrastructure for Guinea’s Ministry of Energy. The project represents an investment exceeding MAD 2 billion ($200 million).
The program covers the design and construction of very high voltage (VHV) transmission lines and substations, along with a 50 MWp solar photovoltaic plant equipped with its own evacuation substation connected to the national grid.
Together, these installations aim to strengthen and stabilize Guinea’s electrical network while boosting the country’s power production and transmission capacity. The project also supports the integration of renewable energy into Guinea’s national energy mix.
Abdellah Sabri, CEO of Cegelec and CEO of VINCI Energies in Africa, stressed the project’s human development dimension. The initiative “will rely fully on local expertise and place human capital development at the heart of its execution,” Sabri told reporters.
‘Reinforcing the autonomy of local actors’
At every stage, the project will promote skills development among Guinean teams through a structured knowledge transfer process, he added. This approach will ensure “a lasting anchoring of expertise in the fields of power transmission and solar energy, while reinforcing the autonomy of local actors,” Sabri noted.
The contract builds on Cegelec’s international track record, following the delivery of VHV transmission infrastructure, substations, and power lines in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Rwanda. It also extends the firm’s presence in sub-Saharan Africa, where it has already completed key electrical infrastructure projects in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mauritania, and Senegal.
For Morocco, the deal reinforces the country’s position as an exporter of turnkey engineering solutions to the African continent. The project confirms Moroccan engineering’s capacity to design and deploy energy infrastructure at an international scale.
Construction was officially launched on Saturday, April 18, in Kamissaya, in the prefecture of Kindia. The ceremony drew senior Guinean officials, including Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah, Energy Minister Laye Sékou Camara, and Education Minister Alpha Bacar Barry. Sabri represented VINCI Energies at the event.
