According to Ethiopian Electric Power Corp. executive Miheret Debebe, EEPCo has signed 14 contracts worth more than $300 million with foreign firms to increase Ethiopia's power output.
State company EEPCo has also announced a feasibility study to construct a second massive hydropower project on the upper Nile River is nearly complete, with the project part of Ethiopia's plans to become a regional power hub in East Africa.
Among the foreign firms involved in the projects are companies from Spain, France, Germany, China, India, the U.S., Canada and Italy. The contracts provide for the construction of 20 high-voltage new sub stations, the upgrading of existing sub stations, the installation of nearly 700 miles of both underground and aerial transmission lines across Ethiopia to link Ethiopia with neighboring countries interested in electricity imports.
Speaking at the contract signing ceremony in the capital Addis Ababa, Debebe noted that the completion of the projects outlined in the various contracts would enable Ethiopia to increase its electrical power generation capacity from its current level of 2,000 megawatts to nearly 10,000 megawatts by 2016, Dakar's PANA Online news agency reported.
Financing for the projects includes over $220 million from the African Development Bank, more than $20 million from Chinese banks, with the balance to be provided by the Ethiopian government.
By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com
Joao is a writer for Oilprice.com More