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Construction of the hydropower project began in 2013 and was scheduled to be completed by Chinese Company Sinohydro 2018.
- The delay is partly as a result of structural defects observed in the dam during an inspection visit by Ugandan authorities.
- The project is being built with loan finance from the Exim Bank of China.
The Chinese company Sinohydro is behind schedule om the construction of the 600MW Karuma hydroelectric power station. The company is yet to complete the construction of the project which began in 2013. SinoHydro has started negotiations with the Ugandan government to extend the delivery deadline for the dam.
Construction was initially scheduled to be completed by 2018. Sinohydro completed the first operational tests of the dam in September 2019, stating that the project was 95 per cent complete and commissioning will take place by December 2019. However, the company is yet to commission the project one year later.
The delay in the project’s delivery was partly as a result of defects observed during an inspection visit by officials of the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL). The Karuma Dam is being constructed on the White Nile between Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga. The reservoir is 20 m high, with a crest length of 312 m. The dam reservoir is 35 km long and covers an area of more than 2,700 hectares. The gross volume of the reservoir is estimated at 79.87 million m³. Its six water intakes feed the six Francis turbines supplied by Alstom. The six turbines produce 600 MW in total.
The repeated delays will affect the due date for payment of the loan, which was provided by China’s Exim Bank. Uganda will repay financing costs of US$1.4 billion.