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Uganda commissions $1.7 bln China-financed hydropower plant

Uganda on Thursday commissioned its largest electricity generation plant, a 600 megawatt (MW) power plant built on the River Nile that cost $1.7. billion, funded with a loan from China.

The Karuma Hydropower Project (KHP), built by. Sinohydro Corporation, greatly raises Uganda's generation. capacity to somewhat above 2000 MW.

Building and construction of the plant, which began in 2013, was postponed. for a number of years and missed multiple completion targets.

At the commissioning ceremony in Kiryandogo in northern. Uganda, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Lizhong explained the plant as. a flagship task of China-Uganda cooperation.

He said the plant would link countless homes with. affordable electrical power ... and contribute to sustainable clean. energy for east African development.

Uganda exports electricity to neighbours Rwanda, Tanzania. and Kenya.

A 400 kV transmission line spanning 248 kilometres (154. miles) to carry the power was likewise launched on Thursday.

Strategies are likewise underway to construct a $180 million. transmission line to enable Uganda to export power to energy. starved South Sudan.

Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa stated the plant had actually faced. lots of logistical challenges including COVID-19 that delayed its. completion.

China's Exim Bank offered a $1.4 billion loan, accounting. for 85% of the project's expense, while the federal government offered the. remaining funding.

President Yoweri Museveni stated his government aimed to. guarantee access to low-cost, reputable, affordable electrical energy.

Karuma is the second hydropower power plant China has. financed in Uganda in the last few years.

In 2019, Uganda commissioned the 188 MW, $500 million Isimba. hydropower dam, also on the Nile river, funded with a loan. from China. It was constructed by China's China International. Water and Electric Corporation

(source: Reuters)