Controversy surrounds Karuma Dam completion

INFRASTRUCTURE   HYDROPOWER

Controversy surrounds the completion of the 600MW $1.3b (sh4.7 trillion) Karuma Hydropower Station. Completion had been set for November 30, this year, but misunderstandings between government officials and the contractor have brought the project to a standstill.

Work progress

According to Sinohydro Corporation Ltd, the contractor, construction of the generation component of the project now stands at 98%, while the transmission line is at 88.3%.

At this level, they want to undertake dry testing (without power) and wet testing (with power loaded) of the facility.

The total installed hydropower generation capacity will increase to over 2,000MW with the planned commissioning of the dam and other smaller hydro plants that are under construction.

The country currently consumes about 644MW of the installed capacity, including exports to Kenya and Tanzania, according to the 2019 Joint Sector Performance report of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

There is unmet power demand of 500MSW due to the absence of efficient transmission and distribution equipment, according to the Electricity Regulatory Authority.

Government officials and the Swiss-based A.F Consults, the project's technical advisor, have refused to authorise further construction, which include undertaking dry and wet tests for the facility.

The queries

Sources said Uganda Electricity Generation Company, the government agency supervising the construction of the project, has expressed dissatisfaction over the poor electrical cabling, electrical cubicles and transformer connections installed by Sinohydro Corporation.

But Sinohydro Corporation argues that some of the issues raised, including minor conformity requirements, have no impact on the safety and reliability of the dam.

The contractor insists that if they are to fix every defect before carrying on with other construction activities, it would require ordering for certain components to be made in China and considering the shipping time, they would require 10 to 18 months.

The contractor states that they have a mechanism for carrying out remedial works without impacting on safety and reliability.

Recently, a team from the energy ministry visited the project site to resolve the challenges facing the contractor.

 Project agreement

According to the project agreements, Sinohydro will be required to continue working on the project two years after it is commissioned to correct any defects. For the maintenance of civil works, they were given five years after commissioning. The Government will issue a takeover certificate to the contractor after commissioning once it is satisfied with the works done.

Sinohydro Corporation has expressed concern about being drawn into a battle between different principles of work. This followed the removal of the first owner's engineer, Energy Infratech (EIPL) and being replaced by AF Consult. Reports indicate that EIPL, for six years (2013-2019), was paid about $8m, while AF Consult charged $4.8m for one year (May 2019-May 2020).

The project completion deadline has so far been extended twice. And according to the contractor, they have been spending $6m (sh22.4b) a month in costs to pay staff, government officials for vehicles, fuel and equipment.

They have, therefore, expressed unease about any further extension of the project. They have requested for permission for a sequenced completion and testing of the six turbines, instead of waiting to do it all at once.

About the project

The project has three major high voltage transmission lines evacuating the power produced. These are; the 400 kilovolt (kV) Karuma to Kawanda line (248km), standing at 98.22% completion level, the 400Kv Karuma to Olwiyo town in Nwoya district (55km) and the 132Kv Karuma to Lira (75km), standing at 95.74% and 81.96% completion level, respectively.

The project will create four substations - at Karuma site, now standing at 97.73% completion, Kawanda (97.93%), Olwiyo (76.10%) and Lira (97.73%).

Sources criticised the government officials for mishandling the land acquisition process for the transmission. According to sources, the process took long, which delayed the construction of pylons.

The contractor wants government officials to prioritise the completion of Karuma-Kawanda transmission line and substations. But three-tower spots on this line cannot be built because of two compensation claimants for lands near River Kafu and another in Luwero district.

The contractor indicated that with the time lost during the COVID-19 lockdown, the project would have delayed, but they worked day and night to redeem lost time. He also expressed concern about the delay to acquire land near the river bank for reservoir impounding. The land is 300 metres to the river bank and is created to maintain safety against flooding.

The construction of Karuma was launched in 2013 and was scheduled to be completed within six years in December 2019. This date was extended to January 2020 and now to December.