The Government of Uganda on Thursday (September 27) launched the Karuma Hydropower Project, a 600 MW hydropower plant on the Nile River.
KHP will be the country’s largest power generation facility to date.
The $1.7 billion project, which will be built by Chinese hydropower company Sinohydro Corporation, will be entirely financed by China. Exim Bank of China provided a loan of $1.4 billion while the Chinese government covered the remaining costs.
The facility will increase Uganda’s generating capacity to just over 2 gigawatts, according to Reuters.
In addition to operation, a 248-kilometre-long 400 kV transmission line was also inaugurated on Thursday to distribute electricity from the station. Another $180 million transmission line is currently under construction to share electricity from Uganda with South Sudan.
Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong described the project as a “key project for China-Uganda cooperation,” explaining that it will generate clean and affordable energy for the country.
It will also support energy development in neighboring countries such as Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya, to which Uganda exports electricity.
Construction of the project began in 2013 but was postponed several times due to failure to meet completion targets due to logistical challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Ugandan Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa.
KHP It is the second hydropower plant in Uganda funded by China, with the 188 MW Isimba Hydropower Dam being funded in 2019. The facility is also located on the Nile River.
according to Energy technologyparent company, Global dataHydropower generation accounted for 91.27% of Uganda’s electricity generation in 2023.
“Uganda builds $1.7 billion hydropower plant, the largest power generation facility in the country” Originally created and published by Energy technologywhich is a trademark of GlobalData.
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