The execution of the Angololo Multipurpose Water Resources Development Project (AWDP), a cross-border water project undertaken by Kenya and Uganda is set to begin.
This is after the heads of states of the East African Community (EAC) inauguration the initiative during their 22nd Ordinary Summit. The summit was held at the organization’s headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, on 21-22 July 2022.
Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) was appointed by the EAC to carry out the project. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), an African Union (AU) socioeconomic flagship program is providing the financial muscles.Â
AWDP benefits to the community
Once completed, the Angololo Multipurpose Water Resources Development Project (AWDP) will boost electricity generation capacity for at least 127,300 people and improve the supply of irrigation and drinking water. The towns of Tororo, Manafwa, and Namisindwa in eastern Uganda, and also Busia and Bungoma in Kenya, will all benefit from the AWDP.
Also Read:Â Latest Developments on Nyamwamba II Hydropower Project in Kasese, Uganda
Approximately 3,300 hectares of land in Kenya and Uganda (1,180 hectares in Kenya and 2,120 hectares in Uganda) will be restored. n addition the initiative will provide continuous access to clean water to 20,000 families in the two countries.
Furthermore, the new dam will produce 1.75 MW of electricity that will be supplied to the power grids of both Kenya and Uganda, contributing to making Kenya’s and Uganda’s Vision 2030 and 2040 a reality, respectively.
Reported earlier
Dec 2021
Ang’ololo Water Resources Development Project to Benefit Thousands in Kenya & Uganda
Thousands of people in Kenya & Uganda are set to benefit from a close to US$ 62M regional Transboundary water initiative dubbed Ang’ololo Water Resources Development Project, which is being developed on the Malaba River that separates the two East African countries.
The project is one of the priority projects under the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP), an investment program of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), and it is a part of the Sio-Malaba-Malakisi Transboundary Integrated Water Resources Management and Development Programme.
Scope of the Ang’ololo Water Resources Development Project
It involves the construction of a 40-meter high dam with a reservoir capacity to hold approximately 43 million cubic meters at Kamachar in Moding location and a water storage reservoir.
Also Read:Â Kajulu Drinking Water Plant Rehabilitation Project in Kisumu, Kenya, Kicks Off
These facilities will help supply drinking water to over 20,000 people in both countries, and irrigation water enough to irrigate approximately 1,180 hectares of land in Kenya and 2,120 hectares in Uganda, through water supply systems that will be developed as part of the project. The facilities in question, particularly the dam, will also facilitate the production of 1.75 megawatts of electricity that will be consumed locally.
Ang’ololo Water Resources Development Project also includes the development of sanitation systems, as well as a system for flow regulation to control floods and manage drought situations.
Project Objectives
The principal objective of the Ang’ololo Water Resources Development Project is to alleviate poverty in the project area by transforming the existing subsistence farming into large-scale commercial farming of irrigated lands producing principally high-value horticultural crops and improving fisheries development.
The project also seeks to increase adaptation to climate change, reverse environmental degradation, improve water supply and sanitation, strengthen transboundary cooperation and promote agro-processing as well as crop and livestock production.