The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S. state development fund, has extended a $480-million five-year grant to Sierra Leone to provide reliable and affordable electricity to 4.6 million people, the fund said.

Only about 30% of the West African country's population has access to electricity, dropping to less than 5% of people in rural areas.

The deal includes three projects to improve the coverage and reliability of the power network and boost the sector's sustainability, the fund said in a statement on Friday.

In April, Sierra Leone's energy minister resigned over a weeks-long electricity crisis linked to tens of millions of dollars in unpaid debt to energy providers.