The governments of Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have received funding totaling to $400million [Sh1trillion] from international agencies to implement a regional electricity interconnection project to aid member states share electricity efficiently, reliably and affordably.
The project consists of the construction and upgrading of power transmission lines to interconnect the member countries.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Kampala on Oct. 11, Eva Paul from the KfW-German Financial Cooperation said they chose to fund the project in order to assist countries access cheap and affordable power, improve the living standards of the people in the region and foster cooperation and mutual understanding among the countries in the region.
Other funders of the project include the African Development Bank, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Participants at the workshop however observed that challenges like completing the power purchase agreements, differences in languages, completing the tendering process were still hindering the progress of the project.
“I have advised the countries to first work on these [challenges] so that by 2015 we are sharing power,” Simon D’ Ujanga, the minister of state for energy told journalists on the sidelines of the workshop.
D’ Ujanga who opened the workshop said Uganda had completed the tendering process and was ready to start construction of the power line from Kawanda–Masaka-Mirama hills and then connect to Rwanda in 2013.
“It is good to interconnect so that if one member records power cuts it is able to receive power from another,” the minister said.
Members states have set 2015 as deadline for the full implementation of the project.
The Independent
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