Power returned to the capital of Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday afternoon after the West African country's government resumed payments and paid part of the debt of $17 million (TL 476 million) to Turkish company Karpowership, which had earlier halted supply to the city due to outstanding payment.
Karpowership said it cut off electricity supplies to Guinea-Bissau for 1.5 days after fuel suppliers paused work following a protracted period of non-payment.
Economy Minister Suleimane Seidi told reporters on Wednesday that $6 million out of $15 million of arrears owed by the Electricity and Water Company of Guinea-Bissau were paid.
"We are grateful for the government's efforts to resolve the fuel payments, which have allowed us to restart operations swiftly and continue providing the people of Guinea-Bissau with electricity," Karpowership's spokesperson said in a statement.
Karpowership, one of the world's largest operators of floating power plants and part of the Karadeniz Energy Group, has been supplying 100% of Guinea-Bissau's electricity needs since signing a deal in 2019, according to its website.
"Karpower has agreed to renegotiate with the government to ensure that the backlog does not become a problem," Seidi said at a news conference on Tuesday.
In September, Karpowership switched off the electricity supply to Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, due to an unpaid debt of around $40 million.
