Alstom Contracted for Phase I of Ethiopia's 6,000-Megawatt Hydro Project

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance hydropower dam project will be the largest in Africa when it is completed, with a full power generating capacity of 6,000 megawatts (MW).

The project has had a difficult history, with Egypt objecting that it impairs the downstream flow of the river. Currently, an international panel of experts is due to announce its findings in April on the impact of the dam on the Blue Nile. Ethiopia has vigorously defended the project as environmentally and river-flow friendly.

At the beginning of 2013, the project has taken a major step forward with the signing of a $327 million contract by Alstom S.A. (OTC:ALSMY) (Paris, France) with Metals Engineering Corporation (METEC) (Addis Ababa) for the supply of eight 375-MW turbines (3,000 MW) and eight generators for the first phase of the project. Alstom will supply and supervise the installation of all electromechanical equipment for the plant. The contract also covers engineering and power plant commissioning.

Commissioning will start in late 2013 and will take place in successive steps over a three-year period. Alstom also will oversee a program to develop skills locally and know-how in the area of hydropower generation, as requested by the Ethiopian government.

The $4.1 billion hydropower dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia is scheduled for completion in 2015, and it will be the flagship for plans to generate 40,000 MW from the highland rivers, with an investment of $12 billion.

"This contract strengthens Alstom's prominent position in the African hydropower market," said Jerome Pecresse, the president of Alstom Renewable Power. "With the supply of the first high-capacity turbine in a short lead time, the company demonstrates its ability to meet the country's power needs as quickly as possible."

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