Hydropower for Uganda
The USD 900m Bujagali hydropower plant on the River Nile near Jinja, Uganda, funded by the EIB, World Bank, African Development Bank, AFD, FMO and others, was inaugurated on Monday by President Yoweri Museveni.
The 250-megawatt power-generating facility will address the severe shortage of electricity in Uganda, a country with an acute need for new power sources.
Many Ugandans regularly experience rotating blackouts of up to 12-24 hours daily.
This lack of power is negatively affecting the Ugandan economy and its citizens because, in many areas, electricity is being produced by expensive and polluting stand-by power generators.
Alongside increasing the supply of reliable electricity the Bujagali power plant will lower energy costs, improve air quality, provide more than 3,000 jobs during construction and contribute to improved education, health and water supply in nearby villages.
It will reduce the emissions of greenhouse gasses in Uganda as hydropower electricity does not cause emissions of CO2 and as it will replace electricity generated by diesel and fuel oil generators, that emit considerable volumes of CO2 that contribute to global warming The Bujagali hydropower plant is being inaugurated on the eve of Uganda’s 50th Independence anniversary.