- Tanzania will diversify its national electricity mix through the construction of the Kakono hydropower plant in the northern region of Kagera.
- The 87.8 MW facility is being co-financed to the tune of US$276.2 million by the French Development Agency (AFD), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Union (EU).
The Kakono hydropower project in Tanzania is proceeding as planned. Both the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the French Development Agency (AFD) have confirmed their respective finance commitments of USD 116 million and USD 120.7 million. The loans will be used to construct an 87.8 MW run-of-river power plant, with the Tanzanian government repaying them over 17 years.
The European Union (EU) has also donated $39.5 million to the Kakono hydropower project. The project’s overall cost now stands at 276.2 million dollars. The project, which began on 1 April 2023, will be finished by Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO), a government-owned company, by 31 December 2028. The infrastructure, which will be accompanied by a dam on the Kagera River, will provide clean energy to about 4 million people.
The Kakono hydropower facility will serve as a hub for Tanzania’s electricity exports to surrounding nations in the Great Lakes region, such as Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda, and is anticipated to prevent yearly emissions of 216,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). The commissioning of this facility, according to AFD, would help the world meet its seventh Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which calls for the advancement of renewable energy.