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Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (M) inspects the construction site. [Photo/POWERCHINA] |
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni visited the Karuma Hydropower Project site on Aug 23, 2018, accompanied by officials including Irene Muloni, the Minister of Energy and Mineral of Uganda, and Zheng Zhuqiang, Chinese Ambassador to Uganda. The visit attracted great attention from local media outlets.
The Karuma Hydropower project, undertaken by POWERCHINA, is the largest of its kind in Uganda and East Africa. It cost a total of $1.5 billion, of which 85 percent was funded by the Export-Import Bank of China and 15 percent by the government of Uganda. The project broke ground in 2013 with a total installation capacity of 600,000 KW.
The president visited the Karuma Dam and other relevant facilities, and delivered a speech after listening to construction reports. He expressed gratitude to the preferential loans of the Chinese government and the work of POWERCHINA.
Taking to Twitter, Museveni briefed people on the construction progress and his wish for future construction projects. He noted that the project will greatly benefit local development.
Zheng Zhuqiang, China's ambassador to Uganda, said that the Karuma project was a model for China-Uganda economic cooperation, as it employed over 6,000 Ugandans, 87 percent of the total workers.
Upon completion, the hydropower station is expected to generate 4 billion kw/h of electricity annually and bring Uganda more than $200 million in revenue, about 1 percent of the country's gross domestic product.
