Minister Fast Congratulates Windiga on $50-Million Contract Win in Burkina Faso

The contract will create jobs and opportunities in Canada and in Burkina Faso

June 19, 2014 – Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso – Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today congratulated Windiga Energy Inc., a Canadian independent power producer, on signing a $50-million contract to build a solar power plant in Zina, Burkina Faso. The project will also include a community development segment involving electrification of a number of rural villages in the area.

The contract comes as the governments of Canada and Burkina Faso conclude negotiations on a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement.

Minister Fast is on a ten-day, four-country trade mission to boost Canada’s trade and investment ties in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, South Africa and Tanzania. The mission has a special focus on the extractive and renewable energy and power sectors—sectors identified as priorities under the Government of Canada’s Global Markets Action Plan.

Quick Facts

• Windiga Energy is headquartered in Montréal and employs eight people there and six in West Africa.
• Sector-focused trade missions are part of the Government of Canada’s pro-trade plan to support Canadian businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, seeking to explore opportunities in new markets.
• Canada is the largest foreign investor in Burkina Faso, a priority market under Canada’s Global Markets Action Plan.
• Minister Fast is leading his third trade mission to Africa, having previously led trade missions to Libya, Nigeria and Ghana.

Source: http://www.international.gc.ca/media/comm/news-communiques/2014/06/19b.aspx?lang=fra