A $1 billion hydroelectric dam planned for Cameroon's Nachtigal River will be ready by 2020, adding over 30 percent to the country's hydropower capacity, the minister of water and energy said on Thursday.

Work on the dam, which will have the capacity to produce 420 megawatts of electricity, will begin by the end of the year, said Basile Atangana Kouna.

The Nachtigal Hydro Power Company (NHPC) will build the dam 65 kilometers north of Yaounde. It is a joint venture of the Cameroon government (40 percent), French state-controlled utility EDF (30 percent), and the World Bank's private sector lender the International Finance Corporation (30 percent).

Cameroon currently produces about 1200 MW from hydropower. According to the water and energy ministry, the country needs 3,000 MW of electricity to support economic growth of 9.5 percent from 2018.