en.Wedoany.com Reported - The World Bank has approved $875 million in financing for Côte d'Ivoire and signed an interim agreement with a local subsidiary of Eni to support the country's natural gas sector development, including technical assistance for its Gas Master Plan.

Ousmane Diagana, the World Bank's Vice President for Western and Central Africa, stated in an email statement that this is a significant investment in Côte d'Ivoire's youth, productive job creation, and the resilience of local communities. Energy remains the backbone of any structural transformation, and the technical support aims to develop a rigorous roadmap for the country to build the necessary transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Côte d'Ivoire's authorities recently began implementing the Gas Master Plan with World Bank support to attract more industry investment. The strategy is being rolled out against the backdrop of Eni's decision to accelerate a $4 billion expansion of its joint offshore project with the Vitol Group, which aims to increase oil production at Baleine Phase 3 from 60,000 barrels per day to 150,000 barrels per day and boost natural gas output.

This push also comes as wars in Iran and Ukraine have made Europe and other countries keen to diversify natural gas supply sources.

The World Bank stated that this financing package is part of a broader commitment of over $17 billion recently announced through its lending and investment arms.