Reports Leo Odera Omolo
The government owned NEWVISION reported this morning inits online news that the estimated about 50MW from the over $800m Bujagali hydro-power project will be connected onto the national grid by the end of next year, the project sponsors have said.
delayed: Men at work at the main Bujagali power plant in Jinja
This will increase Uganda’s electricity supply to 465MW. “The first 50MW-turbine is nearing completion. We anticipate that it will start producing power in December, 2011,” Kenneth Kaheru, the Bujagali Energy Limited (BEL) deputy construction manager, said.
Uganda produces about 415MW from the Nalubaale and Kiira dams and a host of thermal and mini-hydro-power plants countrywide. The firm’s revelation means that the project will not be fully commissioned in July, 2011 as was planned during the investment appraisal phase.
Works on the dam started in mid-2007 and were expected to be completed in 44 months, that is in July, 2011. Execution of the project met bottlenecks when engineers constructing the 30-metre high dam met poor rocks at the end of the dam (tail race section) of the gated spillway. This necessitated a re-design and setting up of a new major structure connected to the gated spillway to safeguard the dam.
The new date for the full commissioning of the dam is not yet known. “We cannot say what the exact date for the commissioning of the dam will be because we are not sure of what is below the water on the eastern part of the river,” Kaheru explained.
“Until we are sure of the riverbed, we can’t start talking about the completion date.” He, however, said the works were progressing well, explaining that they expect to divert the river in January so that River Nile flows entirely through the gates currently under construction. “This will allow us work on the the eastern section of the dam, where the river is currently flowing through.”
The 250MW power project is a joint venture between Industrial Promotion Services, an arm of the Aga Khan Foundation for Economic Development and Sithe Global, a US power firm.
On the project’s social and environmental aspects, BEL said has spent huge sums more than $3m in agricultural extension services, health, education, fisheries, skills training including entrepreneurship and environmental conservation as well as other social programmes specifically targeted for vulnerable persons.
The objective of the social and environment program is to ensure that the integrity of the environment in the project area is enhanced and that the Project Affected People (PAPs) are empowered to become self reliant and thus be capable of improving their livelihoods.
The project sponsors have built schools in Naminya settlement village as well as supporting other education initiatives in the other affected villages.
BEL is also equipping and upgrading health centres as well as training, equipping and facilitating village health teams with the tools they need to deliver healthcare services more efficiently to the project affected people.
It has also helped to organise the fishing community in the project area and has equipped the fishermen with appropriate fishing gear.
BEL completed a partnership arrangement with the National Water and Sewerage Corporation that will enable the project affected communities on both sides of the river get access to piped water.
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