Kenya, Ethiopia to benefit from dam project

  1. Posted on Thursday 4 June 2009 - 10:15
    Yohanes
    Image of Yohanes
    Andualem Sisay, AfricaNews reporter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
    Kenya and Ethiopia are constructing a-multibillion hydroelectric project to benefit the two neigbouring countries, according to Kenyan officials.
    bridge
    The Gibe III project, which the Ethiopian government has been constructing for the past three years, has been criticized by some environmentalists for reducing the amount of water that goes to Lake Turkana of Kenya and endangering the lives of inhabitants around the lake.

    It is believed that the acceptance of the project by the Kenyan government will give an end to these environmentalists who have been trying to persuade international financiers not to give loan for Ethiopia to complete the project.

    “We learned that the project will be environment friendly and Kenya welcomes Ethiopia’s multibillion dollar hydroelectric project,” said John Rao Nyaoro, Kenyan director of water resource, after visiting the project and discussing the issue with Ethiopian officials on Wednesday.

    “The government of Kenya would provide unwavering support for the sustainability and feasibility of the project. The project will strengthen the economic and social ties between the two countries,” he added.

    Kenyan Ambassador to Ethiopia on his part said that Ethiopia and Kenya would benefit from Gibe III project and it would further strengthen the economic ties between the two nations.

    Gibe III Hydroelectric, which is estimated to cost one billion and 400,000 million Euros, power project has a capacity of generating 1870 mega watt and 6,400GWh of energy per year.

    The construction commenced July 2006 following a contract agreement signed between the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation and an Italian company, Salini Construction. The project, whose one-third construction work has already completed, is expected to start service by July 2013.

    According to Asfaw Dingamo, water resource minister of Ethiopia, the project will ensure clean renewable power supply both for Ethiopia and Kenya while enabling to mitigate drought. The project would also enable to control flood by regulating flow of the water, he added.

    Gibe III project is taking place on the trans-boundary Omo-Gibe basin, which is one of the significant surface water resources of Ethiopia. The hydroelectric potential of Ethiopia has been estimated at some 40,000MW.

Latest News

  1. AFCON: 46 hurt in Zambia victory celebrations09/02Over 40 casualty cases were recorded Wednesday night at Zambia's University Teaching Hospital (UTH) after post-match celebrations turned violent …
  2. African Peer Review Mechanism making progress08/02In 2003 the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the continental development plan, initiated the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM…
  3. Combating HIV infections among African women08/02With a lack of knowledge and power, African women continue to bear the brunt of HIV infections.
  4. Legume cultivation booms in Western Kenya07/02Small Holder Farmers (SHFs) who traditionally relied on seed companies for all their seeds are now bulking their own legume seeds for their farms.
  5. Malawi vendors chase out Chinese07/02Vendors in Kalonga, the Northern district of Malawi, on Wednesday petitioned the District Commissioner to flash out all Chinese nationals who are doin…
  6. Zim: Informal sector urged to join HIV battle05/02While the Harare City council is busy engaging in running battles with city vendors, Health Minister has called for authorities to devise ways to form…
  7. Elections: Wole Soyinka warns Mugabe, Wade03/02The Nigerian Nobel Prize winner for literature said heads of states who are trying to cling to power suffer the same fate as the dictators who were sw…
  8. AU elections rescheduled for June in Malawi01/02Following a deadlock during Monday's African Union elections, with a tie between former wife to South African president Jacob Zuma, Home Affairs …
  9. Senegal in turmoil as protest intensifies01/02Hundreds of anti-government protesters Tuesday gathered in the central Dakar, Senegal to show their dissatisfaction over the incumbent president Abdou…
  10. Zimbabwe’s inflation still favourable -…01/02Zimbabwe's annual headline inflation still compared favourably with economies in the region, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said o…
  11. AFCON 2012: Sudan qualifies after four decades31/01The Sudanese national team has sealed a historic win over the Stallions of Burkina Faso.
  12. Senegalese opposition to intensify protests31/01Opposition and civil society groups in Senegal have vowed to increase their fight against incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade's presidential bid.
  13. Malawi: Rights coalition condemn stripping of…30/01The 39 members of the Solidarity for African Women's Rights Coalition based in 18 African countries have vehemently condemned the stripping of wo…
  14. Kenya to deworm five million children annually30/01Kenya launched the second phase of its national deworming programme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012, aiming to treat 5 million childre…
  15. Benin’s Yayi Boni is AU’s new…30/01President Yayi Boni of Benin Republic has been elected chairperson of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa
News archive