Ivory Coast signed a partnership agreement to create a consortium headed by France’s Total to build a liquid natural gas (LNG) import terminal that could begin receiving gas shipments by mid-2018, Reuters reported.

The country’s Energy Minister, Adama Toungara, said that the project aims to conceive, build and operate a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) with initial capacity of 100mcf that would gradually be brought up to 500mcf. He added that the project will cost an estimated $200m, according to Maritime Executive.

Other members of the consortium include Royal Dutch Shell, Houston-based Endeavor Energy, Ivory Coast state oil company Petroci, CI-Energies, Azerbaijan’s SOCAR and Golar LNG, with Total acting as the project’s operator.

Ivory Coast has emerged from years of political turmoil to become one of Africa’s fastest growing economies and demand for electricity is increasing by 10% annually. The French-speaking West African nation has the region’s most reliable power production sector and exports electricity to its neighbors. However, a lack of new domestic gas discoveries has raised concerns of a supply crunch.