Launching of an inter-State electricity network project in East Africa

11 September 2009

A joint project involving five states in the Nile region will be put into effect over the next five years, aimed at the development of transport and electricity distribution infrastructures.

The announcement was made on Thursday, 9 September 2009, during a summit conference held in Kigali and attended by representatives of the five countries participating in the project: Uganda, DRC, Kenya, Burundi, and Rwanda.

The cost of the work is estimated at 282 million Dollars. The African Development Bank has already approved several loans and donations totalling 162 million Dollars.

The intention is that the remainder will be financed by other development partners such as the World Bank or the Dutch government, although no official agreement has been given at the present time.

More than 700 km of new electricity lines will be constructed, and more than 262 km of existing lines will be upgraded. The work will begin in 2010 and continued until 2014.

The aim is to create an electricity market between the five countries in order to reduce costs and achieve the optimum use of electricity.<br/>

Category: General