Yamoussoukro (Côte d'Ivoire) - The Ivorian Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies, Abdourahmane Cissé announced, Tuesday evening in Yamoussoukro (Centre), the upcoming reopening of the Inter-African School of Electricity ( ESIE) of Bingerville (Eastern suburb of Abidjan) intended for the training of engineers and technicians in the electricity trades.

This reopening of the ESIE is one of the twelve main recommendations formulated at the end of two days of reflection and work, between the private sector and the public administration, which focused on the difficulties and the development strategy of the sectors oil and energy from the Ivory Coast.

According to Minister Cissé, who was speaking at the end of the works, the resources necessary for this reopening will be mobilized with the partners of Côte d'Ivoire.

"ESIE is an inter-African school for which most countries contributed, most donors, in particular the AfDB (African Development Bank) contributed", recalled Abdourahmane Cissé, specifying that "there are even resources already available for the reopening of this establishment”.

The ESIE, which was a structure set up by the Union of Products of Electricity Transporters and Distributors in Africa (UPDA) which has now become the Association of Electricity Utilities of Africa (ASEA) was closed in 2002 to for “economic reasons”.

The Yamoussoukro meeting also recommended the creation of a Higher School of Petroleum and Energy which will issue a double diploma from the National Polytechnic Institute of Yamoussoukro and an international school of reference here in Côte d'Ivoire.

“If we want to have local content development, it has to be accompanied by well-trained human resources. It is in this sense that we proposed to create here in Côte d'Ivoire a Higher School of Petroleum and Energy”, explained Minister Cissé.

The development of a strategy aimed at making Côte d'Ivoire the energy hub of the sub-region, in particular through the increase in energy exports and the securing of payments was also recommended, as well as the intensification of the promotion of the Ivorian sedimentary basin with a view to increasing national oil and gas production.

The action plan also provides for the forthcoming adoption of a law on local content in oil and gas activities with the objective of greater participation of local SMEs and the creation of jobs for young people.

The recommendations also relate to the adoption of a regulatory framework promoting manufacturing in Côte d'Ivoire, and governing the use of lubricating oils as well as the efficient supply of the country with petroleum products, in particular through offshoring and extension of oil wharfs and increase in safety stock.

Finally, the privileged use of calls for tenders for the selection of independent producers based on the use of standard contracts making it possible to reduce contracting times and including, in particular, a clause on local content which grants at least 30% of the subcontracting markets to local SMEs, is also an achievement of Yamoussoukro.