- The EU has not disclosed the timeline for the investment in Uganda’s Hydropower Plant or whether the funding would be a grant or credit.
- Uganda has an installed capacity of about 1,400 MW of power, mostly from its hydro dams.
The European Union plans to invest 60 million euros ($63 million) in upgrading one of Uganda’s largest hydropower plants. EU’s ambassador to Uganda, Jan Sadek, said yesterday that with this investment, the EU will help to partially plug a financing gap for Uganda’s ageing energy infrastructure.
The Nalubaale and Kiira hydropower plant complex located at the source of River Nile at Jinja in Uganda’s east produces about 380 megawatts (MW). It is Uganda’s oldest power plant, commissioned in 1954. South African power giant Eskom ran the plant under a 20-year concession that ended early this year, after which the government retook control.
During a mining conference in Kampala, Sadek said, “We’ll be investing some 60 million euros in the rehabilitation of Kiira and Nalubaale hydropower plant to provide reliable energy for Uganda’s industrialisation.” He did not say when the work at Uganda’s Hydropower Plant would begin or whether the funding would be a grant or credit.
Sadek further said the funding would advance under the EU’s global gateways strategy. The strategy’s design helps meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Uganda’s energy infrastructure is underfunded, and the ageing of parts of the network has caused widespread outages and sometimes breakdowns. Uganda has an installed capacity of about 1,400 MW of power, mostly from its hydro dams. This capacity will rise to 2000 MW when a Chinese-built plant, Karuma, also on the River Nile, is commissioned this year.