Bujagali to start in 2005

Oct 11, 2004

FOUR international firms have been pre-qualified for the construction of the 250mw hydropower station at Bujagali in Jinja district.

By Felix Osike

FOUR international firms have been pre-qualified for the construction of the 250mw hydropower station at Bujagali in Jinja district, energy minister Syda Bbumba has said.

Construction of the US$580m power plant, opposed by environmental conservationists, is expected to begin mid next year, Bbumba said.

An earlier attempt by a US affiliated company, AES Nile power, aborted due to financial constraints and allegations of corruption in the process of choosing a construction consortium.

Bbumba yesterday said the firms were invited to pick the bidding documents.

She did not name the companies but said they were reputable.

The firms, which had earlier expressed interest in the project, were Electricite De France, Union Fonesa International of Spain, South Africa’s Eskom Enterprises Pty and the UK-based CDC Capital partners.

Bbumba said construction of Karuma power station would commence after Bujagali is completed.

She said 20 megawatts of electricity would be imported from Mombasa, Kenya.

“We shall import as soon as we get the gadgets to install in our system so that the flow is two-way.”

Ironically, most of the power used in Mombasa is imported from Uganda. Bbumba said Uganda sells power to Kenya between 11:00pm and 6:00am when there is idle capacity.

“It is a back-to-back arrangement and they will be selling to us at the same price we sell to them,” Bbumba said.

In addition to installing two more turbines at the Kiira power station, the Government plans to buy a diesel thermal generator to boost the power supply.

Bbumba said if Lake Victoria level regains, load shedding in the country would be reduced.
Nine other sites on River Nile have been surveyed for dam construction.

Bbumba said the Bujagali saboteurs should be blamed for the current power shortages.

President Yoweri Museveni on Saturday criticised Bbumba for attributing the power outages to drought, saying she was playing lullabies.

Lamwo Member of Parliament Hillary Onek said the construction of the Kiira Power plant, an extension that draws water from the same point upstream of Nalubaale dam was responsible for the drop in water levels.

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