Final study on Bujagali ends
Publication date: Thursday, 18th January, 2007
HOPE AT TUNNEL’S END:
More power will be produced in addition
to what is generated at Kiira dam
THE final study of Bujagali dam has been completed, paving way for unlocking of financial support for the project, a consultant’s report has revealed.
Major financiers are expected to be the World Bank and donors. The dam will be built and owned by Aga Khan’s Industrial Promotion Services (IPS).
The 250MW dam’s construction is expected to start in May.
Power Planning Associate, the energy management consultants hired by the World Bank, presented the report to key stakeholders at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala on Tuesday.
The report forecasts that by 2010, national demand will be 375MW compared to the current 340MW peak demand. This is expected to rise to 545MW by 2015 and 789MW by 2020.
The study has been reviewed by a World Bank-appointed independent expert, who agreed substantially with the different water release scenarios that formed the basis for the economic and financial analysis of the project.
The amount of water that can be released by Nalubaale and Kiira dams upstream from Bujagali will determine how much power Bujagali can generate.
Bobi Watuwa, the director of energy, emphasised the need to use the right demand forecast to avoid coming up with negative conclusions.
Watuwa asked the stakeholders to critically observe the report to provide the right input for the final report.
Some of the stakeholders were: energy ministry, Electricity Regulatory Authority, Uganda Electricity Distribution Company, Uganda Electricity Generation Company, Uganda Electricity Transmission Company and Rural Electrification Agency officials. Others were from IPS, Eskom and the World Bank.
Ismailimail 