ADDIS ABABA- Ethiopia plans to commission two Chinese-built energy projects in the second half of 2019. Talking to Xinhua on Tuesday, Frehiwot Woldehana, State Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity said the 254 MW Genale Dawa III hydro projects and an electricity transmission line connecting Ethiopia to Kenya is expected to be applied in the second half of 2019.
Genale Dawa III hydro projects are located in southeastern Ethiopia and are currently being built by China Gezhouba Group at a cost of around 450 million U.S. dollars. The 1,045 km Ethio-Kenya electricity transmission line is divided between 612 km on the Kenyan side and 433 km on the Ethiopian side. It is expected to need 1.2 billion U.S dollars to be completed and funded by the African Development Bank and the World Bank.
The Ethiopian side of the EthioKenya electricity transmission line is currently being constructed by China Electric Power Equipment and Technology. It will have a conducting capacity of 2,000 MW once it is completed. Frehiwot said that, Chinese firms have played an important role in helping Ethiopia achieve its energy sector ambitions, affirming his government’s commitment to continue energy sector partnership with Chinese firms.
The energy sector is one of Ethiopia’s priorities as the country envisages becoming a light manufacturing hub in Africa together with a middle-income economy by 2025. Ethiopia plans to increase its current 4,300 MW electricity generation capacity to 17,300 MW by 2025, with power generation projects in hydro, wind, geothermal and biomass sectors.
The Ethiopian Herald April 25/2019
BY ESSEYE MENGISTE
