The construction of the Gilgel Gibe III hydro-electric dam in Ethiopia which is almost fully operational will bring an additional 1870MW to the national grid.
The US$ 1.8bn Gilgel Gibe III construction project which is the largest hydro-power plant in Ethiopia and one the biggest in Africa will be an asset to the country as it will have the capability of storing up to 11.8 billion cubic metres of water that can be released downstream for power generation or other functions.
“When the trail is successful, Gibe III is expected to start generating 500MW of electricity by this month,” Alemayehu Tegenu, the Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy said.
The trail production is from the stored water that enables the production. Installation of turbines for the 1,870MW power plant is being done.
The project is being largely funded by the Ethiopian government, African Development Bank and French Development Agency and once complete surplus electricity will be sold to neighbouring countries like Rwanda.
According to latest figures Ethiopia has just over 2,000MW of installed generation capacity. This means the addition of Gilge Gibe III will substantially change the country’s power profile and help accelerate an ambitious government industrialization programme.
China Electric Power and Equipment Technology Company are set to build a US$ 120m power transmission line to connect Ethiopia and Kenya.
