Regional power project unveiled
Sep 09, 2009
A $282m regional power interconnection project that will link the electricity networks of five African countries in the Nile Equatorial lakes region has been unveiled.
By Sylvia Juuko
A $282m regional power interconnection project that will link the electricity networks of five African countries in the Nile Equatorial lakes region has been unveiled.
The project will entail the construction and strengthening of the electricity networks in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
The Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme is one of the two investment programmes under the Nile Basin Initiative.
Representatives of the five countries are meeting in Kampala to discuss the modalities of the implementation of the project in their countries.
The project will cover more than 700km of new transmission lines and 262km will be upgraded in the five countries. It will kick-off at the end of 2010 and be completed in 2014.
Energy state minister Simon D’Ujanga said the project will increase cross border energy and power trade in the region at a reasonable cost.
“With the discovery of oil in Uganda, there is hope of increasing the generation of relatively cheap thermal power that can be shared with our neighbours, thus increasing the security of supply in the sub-region,†D’Ujanga said at the Grand Imperial Hotel yesterday.
The African Development Bank has approved loans and grants totalling $162m for Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and the Nile Basin Initiative.
Other donors expected to co-finance the project include the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, World Bank and the Netherlands.
A $282m regional power interconnection project that will link the electricity networks of five African countries in the Nile Equatorial lakes region has been unveiled.
The project will entail the construction and strengthening of the electricity networks in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
The Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme is one of the two investment programmes under the Nile Basin Initiative.
Representatives of the five countries are meeting in Kampala to discuss the modalities of the implementation of the project in their countries.
The project will cover more than 700km of new transmission lines and 262km will be upgraded in the five countries. It will kick-off at the end of 2010 and be completed in 2014.
Energy state minister Simon D’Ujanga said the project will increase cross border energy and power trade in the region at a reasonable cost.
“With the discovery of oil in Uganda, there is hope of increasing the generation of relatively cheap thermal power that can be shared with our neighbours, thus increasing the security of supply in the sub-region,†D’Ujanga said at the Grand Imperial Hotel yesterday.
The African Development Bank has approved loans and grants totalling $162m for Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and the Nile Basin Initiative.
Other donors expected to co-finance the project include the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, World Bank and the Netherlands.