Gebba River Dam is a hydroelectric power project being undertaken by Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) in Oromia, Ethiopia. The project entails the construction of a 391MW hydroelectric facility.
The scheme is scheduled to be created in two phases, Geba-1 and Geba-2. The first stage of the project entails building a 226MW hydropower facility with a 480m head. The 165MW will be built in the second phase.
The most cost-effective option was determined by a feasibility study conducted in 2005 by Norplan AS (Norplan), Norconsult AS, SHEBELE Consult PLC, and Water Works Design and Supervision Enterprise. The study was updated in 2012 by Norplan.
EEPCO issued a request for expressions of interest from companies on October 23, 2008, with a deadline for submission of November 30, 2008. The African Development Bank Group approved financing for the development of the entire complex in September 2012 in the amount of US$100 million.
To build the project, EEPCO and a joint venture (JV) made up of SUR Construction PLC, Sinohydro Corporation, and China Gezhouba Group Co Ltd signed an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract on September 8, 2014. An agreement was signed in August 2016 to start the project’s construction once the necessary funding was secured.
Reported on 15th September 2014
Chinese firms to construct the new US$ 700m Gebba River Dam, Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Government has awarded a contract for the construction of a new Gebba River Dam. The cost of the contract is US$700m. It will be built along the Gebba River, near the border of the Jimma and Illubabur zones of the Oromia Regional State.
The contract for the new Gebba River Dam was awarded through the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo), which is mandated to produce, transmit, distribute, and sell electrical energy in accordance with economic and social development policies and priorities of the Ethiopian government.
The contract for the project was awarded to SINOHydro and CGCC and Sur Construction.
The finances for the project will be made available through loans from the Chinese government, through China’s Exim Bank.
The new Gebba River Dam will be the most costly ever built in Ethiopia in terms of cost/megawatt, once complete. According to sources, it will be more costly/mw by about twice the amount spent on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which is currently the largest dam in Africa. It is projected to produce 391MW of electricity.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project is located 500km North West of Addis Abeba on the Blue Nile. Hydropower accounts for the bulk of Ethiopia’s electric power generating capacity and output. Presently, the country has 12 dams some have been constructed while others like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Gebba River dam are in the pipeline.
The projects being put up by Ethiopia in recent years is an indication of the country’s resilience and striving to emerge as an economic hub in the region despite the challenges faced in the past.
