Uganda on Thursday inaugurated its largest electricity generation facility, the 600-megawatt (MW) Karuma Hydropower Project (KHP), located on the River Nile. The $1.7 billion project, financed largely through a loan from China, significantly increases Uganda’s power generation capacity to over 2,000 MW.
The project, constructed by Sinohydro Corporation, faced several delays after construction began in 2013, missing multiple completion deadlines. However, at the commissioning ceremony held in Kiryandongo, northern Uganda, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Lizhong hailed the plant as a “flagship project of China-Uganda cooperation.” He emphasized that the plant would provide millions of households with affordable electricity and contribute to clean energy development in East Africa.
Uganda currently exports electricity to neighboring countries, including Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya. A 400 kV transmission line spanning 248 kilometers was also launched to distribute power from the new plant. Additionally, Uganda has plans to construct a $180 million transmission line to export electricity to South Sudan, which faces an energy shortfall.
Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa noted that the project had encountered logistical challenges, including delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. China’s Exim Bank provided a $1.4 billion loan, covering 85% of the project’s total cost, with the Ugandan government funding the remainder.
President Yoweri Museveni reiterated the government’s commitment to providing “cheap, reliable, affordable electricity” to the country. Karuma is the second hydropower facility financed by China in Uganda in recent years. In 2019, Uganda commissioned the 188 MW Isimba hydropower dam, also built on the Nile and financed by a loan from China, constructed by China’s China International Water and Electric Corporation (CWE).
