The Potential Power of East Africa's Rivers Generates New Projects

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Hydropower in East Africa will add another 460 MW of generating capacity when two new projects are commissioned.

The Tekeze Hydropower Project (THPP) contract to build a 185 meter high dam on a tributary of the Nile in Ethiopia has been won by the China National Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Corporation (CWHEC), which is one of the main contractors on the world's largest hydropower project on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China. The $224 million Tekeze dam will be 10 meters higher than Three Gorges. Ethiopia is rich in water and potential hydropower resources but at present is utilizing only 5% of that potential.

The dam, with its underground 300 MW power station, represents the largest cooperative project between China and an African state. The contract was won against competition from a number of European and Japanese competitors.

In Uganda, Eskom, the South African power utility, was the only bidder for power generation at the Kira and Nalubale power stations on the Nile in Jinja, an industrial center 80 km east of the Ugandan capital, Kampala. Two other pre-qualified bidders, Fenosa International of Spain and Tata Power of India, opted out of the competition. Eskom submitted a joint bid with CDC Capital Partners from the UK.

The deals on the two plants should be closed by the end of the year. At present, they are producing a combined 300 MW on a rated performance of 380 MW. With the implementation of new technical proposals by the Eskom team, an additional 80 MW should be added by 2004.

For more infomation on hydroelectric development in Africa and a listing of the world's largest hydroelectric projects see "Congo Hydroelectric Potential Hinges on Pan African Electrical Transmission Infrastructure Development"