Kisumu
  23/08/07

REGIONAL POWER POOL IN EAST AFRICA TO BEGIN IN YEAR 2011

By Leo Odera Omolo

As the Kenyan leaders, particularly the legislators from the Lake Victoria basin grapple with the life threatening low levels of the lake water, President Museveni made an impromptu announcement that the three East African partners in the East African Community (EAC) States will soon have a power sharing pool to ease energy shortage.

Museveni said the strategy is to build grid interconnection to assist power deficit areas of the region.

‘’Over short period of time , we are going to link with other three East African Community member states to form the pool which will enable the countries to serve each other incase of power deficit.’’ Said the Ugandan Head of State.

The president was speaking in the Ugandan Eastern Industrial town of Jinja during the colorful ceremony of the laying of the foundation stone for the Bujagali Hydropower Project, which was also part of the 50th anniversary of His Highness, the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the Ismail Muslim Community.

The East African Power Pool Project, according to President Museveni, is expected to be operational by the year 2011, once the required infrastructure is in the place. Plans are also underway to incorporate Rwanda and Burundi and the DR Congo.

Currently, Uganda imports up to 20 MW of power from Kenya following the drop of water level in River Nile but the drop in Lake Victoria could be the worse and might threaten the Owen Fall dam at Jinja.

The drop has led to a severe 12 hours electricity load-shedding daily in Uganda, resulting in slow down in economic growth.

The Aga Khan told the gatherings that the problem extends well beyond Uganda, noting that Africa produces only four percent of the world’s electricity.

Bujagali power plant is being constructed by an Italian firm, Salini. It has been difficult to inject huge private investment capital in Africa. “This is a milestone that ensure shortages of dependable power is history in East Africa,’’ said the Aga Khan.

The spiritual leader of the 20 million Ismail Muslim Community in the world said he regretted Africa’s failure to exploit its hydropower potential. Africa is a sixth of the world population, but generates only four per cent of the world energy, much of which is produced in North and South Africa. ‘’This great issue of development, everywhere in the world, is whether the power supply will grow more quickly than the economic growth or whether the economic growth will grow more quickly than power supply, thus economic growth outstrips the power supply’’.

President Museveni said the project is the largest single infrastructure investment of the Aga Khan Development Network worldwide.

An analyst and co - author of various studies on the impact of energy loss in Uganda, Mr. Lukule was quoted by local press as saying ‘’Bujagali is critical to cover long-term economic plans. After it, plans to develop power projects must be expedited.

The construction of Bujagali power project will be completed within 44 months, with the first 50 MW unit to be fed in the national grid within 36 months, said Dr. Kevin Kariuki of the IPS.

Bujagali Project is being financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) at a cost of (US 130 million), European Investment Bank US 100 million, African Development Bank (ADB) US 110 million and Commercial Banks, Barclays and Standard Chartered jointly extending loans amounting to US 115 million ‘’premised on Build Own, and Transfer (BOT) Principle, the Bujagali Power Project is based on a 30 year power purchase Agreement with Uganda Electricity Transmission Company”, said Dr. Kariuki.

Ends.

leooderaomolo@yahoo.com