Siemens has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Madagascar to cooperate and identify measures to fast track the country's power generation and work towards increasing capacity by an additional 300MW by 2019.

The agreement was signed together with project partners TSK in the presence of Günter Nooke, the German Chancellor's Personal Representative for Africa, and the German ambassador to Madagascar Harald Gehrig.

Other key aspects of the agreement include an assessment of the electrical grid based on new power generation sources, applying financing concepts that will ensure the long-term sustainability of these infrastructure initiatives, and creating opportunities for local upskilling and job creation during construction and operation.

Madagascar currently has 676MW of installed generation capacity with estimated access to electricity of around 20 per cent. Siemens believes opportunities exist to increase installed capacity through hydropower and explore oil reserves to meet the targets set by the government.

"The primary goal of this agreement is to increase national power generating capacity and to connect the local population to the power grid. A reliable and extensive power supply system is the fundamental prerequisite for economic growth," said Sabine Dall'Omo, Siemens Chief Executive Officer for Southern and Eastern Africa.

"Siemens wants to support the sustainable development of Madagascar. We are a company that invests for the long-term, and the opportunity for industrialisation in Africa is now. With the right partner Africa's economies can develop to their full potential. Improving the country's energy mix will strengthen the well-established agriculture and mining industry and emerging tourism, textile industries."

One short-term initiative is the installation of a Siemens 44-megawatt aero-derivative gas turbine (SGT-A45) for mobile power generation in the capital Antananarivo. This unit is packaged for rapid deployment and can be installed within two weeks. It is particularly beneficial for urgent power needs or in regions with less developed infrastructure, making it ideal for Madagascar.