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# [MADAGASCAR] Energy: decade-long Volobe dam project revived as Randrianirina heads to Europe to restart talks with EDF and the EU
- URL: https://businessoi.media/en/madagascar-energie-le-barrage-volobe-bloque-depuis-10-ans-reprend-vie-randrianirina-en-europe-pour-relancer-les-negociations-avec-edf-et-lue-en/
- Published: 2026-09-11T13:39:36.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-11T13:39:36.000Z
- Description: Colonel Randrianirina is in Paris and Brussels to revive the Volobe dam, stalled for 10 years. EDF is in the consortium, the EU has committed funding — but the gap between 17 and 9 cents/kWh remains unbridged.
- Author: Emmanuel TAOCHY
- Tags: Madagascar, Investissement, Clôture, #en

Madagascar's head of state, Colonel Michaël Randrianirina, is on a diplomatic tour in France and Belgium to revive negotiations over the **Volobe hydroelectric dam**, a project that has been stalled for nearly a decade on the Ivondro River (Atsinanana region). With EDF now in the consortium and EU financial backing secured, talks have been extended **to June 2027**.

## Ten years of waiting, deadlocked on electricity pricing

The Volobe project — a dam on the Ivondro River in Madagascar's Atsinanana region — is one of the country's most strategic energy ventures. For nearly **ten years**, it has been blocked by a fundamental pricing dispute: the private consortium demands **17 cents per kWh**, while the state offers only **9 cents**. This gap, seemingly technical, determines the project's profitability, the concession duration, the state's equity stake and the overall financial structure.

## EDF joins the consortium, EU commits to funding

Since Emmanuel Macron's visit to Madagascar in April 2025, **Électricité de France (EDF)** has joined the project consortium. This entry of a major European player has boosted the project's credibility and opened the door to stronger institutional backing: the **European Union has committed to financing the project**, and the EU is a key interlocutor in Colonel Randrianirina's Brussels leg of the trip.

A meeting with **an EU Commission Vice-President** is scheduled to address both the energy dimension and Madagascar's democratic timeline — the EU has linked its support to a referendum and presidential elections being held before end-2027.

## A packed diplomatic schedule

In Paris, the head of state attended the **International Space Summit at the Grand Palais**, on the sidelines of which Madagascar signed a space cooperation agreement with two Chinese firms in July. Diplomatic contacts are also underway for a bilateral meeting with Emmanuel Macron — which would be their second encounter, against a backdrop of recent tensions (French diplomat expulsions in spring 2026). Commercially, the tour aims to break the deadlock on Volobe, which is conditioning hundreds of millions of euros in investment.

## Why it matters

Madagascar faces a structural energy crisis: power cuts hamper businesses, deter foreign investment and undermine the country's competitiveness. Volobe represents significant hydropower capacity to electrify whole regions and support growth projected at 6% in 2026\. Resolving the kWh pricing deadlock is therefore a pivotal moment: a deal before June 2027 would allow construction to begin within a timeframe consistent with the country's development goals.

*Source: lexpress.mg; allAfrica.com; Madagascar economic diplomacy — September 11, 2026.*