On Thursday (September 27), the government of Uganda commissioned the Karuma Hydropower Project (KHP), a 600 MW hydroelectric power plant on the Nile River.
KHP will be the country’s largest power generation facility to date.
The $1.7 billion project, to be built by Chinese hydropower company Sinohydro Corporation, will be fully financed by China. China’s Exim Bank provided a $1.4 billion loan, while the Chinese government paid the remaining costs.
The facility will increase Uganda’s generation capacity to just over 2 GW Reuters.
In addition to the contract, a 400 kV, 248 km transmission line was also launched on Thursday to distribute electricity from the plant. Another transmission line worth $180 million is currently being constructed to share electricity from Uganda with South Sudan.
Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong called the project a “flagship project of China-Uganda cooperation,” explaining that it will generate clean and affordable energy for the country.
It will also support energy developments in neighboring countries such as Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya, where Uganda exports electricity.
Construction of the project began in 2013 but was postponed several times due to missed completion targets due to logistical challenges and the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Ugandan Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa.
KHP is the second hydropower plant in Uganda to be financed by China, with the 188 MW Isimba hydropower dam funded in 2019. The facility is also located on the Nile River.
According to Power technologythe parent company, Global dataIn 2023, hydropower generation constituted 91.27% of electricity generation in Uganda.
“Uganda orders $1.7 billion hydroelectric plant, country’s largest power generation facility” was originally created and published by Power technologya brand owned by GlobalData.
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