AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme (NELSAP) has received funds from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to conduct an updated feasibility study of the 352.2km Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)–Uganda power interconnection.
The updated feasibility covers an engineering design, tender documents preparation, environmental, social impact assessment (ESIA) and resettlement action plan (RAP) for the Congo (Beni-Bunia-Butembo)–Uganda (Nkenda) power interconnection.
NELSAP Knowledge Management Officer Juliet Nakasagga unveiled to the ‘Daily News’ that the funds were for updating the feasibility study of the 352.2km of an overhead transmission line (OHTL) at 220KV (400kV) to connect the Eastern part of DRC to the Uganda power grid.
The Congo portion of the interconnector line will be 279.7km, while Uganda’s portion will be 72.5km and will include four substations (Beni, Bunia and Butembo in DRC and at Nkenda in Uganda) together with telecommunication systems and rural electrification in DRC sections.
AfDB funds under a Nepad-IPPF window to a tune of $0.925m was availed to NELSAP in March this year and the study is expected to run for 14 months.
The feasibility study will be conducted by NELSAP-CU in consultation with Société Nationale d’Electricité (SNEL) of the DRC and Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL).
The DRC and Uganda will provide $0.065m as counterpart contributions. As a precursor to the feasibility, NELSAP facilitated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ministers in charge of energy affairs of the DRC and Uganda in August 2017 in Kinshasa for this transmission line and for future energy projects.
The MoU signed by Mr Ingele Ifoto, Minister for Energy from the DRC Irene Muloni, the Ugandan Minister for Energy established a framework of cooperation between the two countries to enable the joint development and implementation of energy projects, trade and exchange of electric power.
Through the MoU the countries mandated NELSAP-CU to mobilise funds and coordinate physical implementation of the interconnection on behalf of the countries and facilitate other future cross-border investments in the energy sector.
“The DRC-Uganda interconnection project will contribute to the socioeconomic development of the populations of the two countries through improved electricity provision, electrification of eligible communities along the line route, thanks to the Rural Electrification component and job creation for both women and the youth during the construction and operation of the line and will increase cross-border trade of energy and power between the two countries,” the official said.
The project is related to the ongoing interconnection of electric grids of the Nile Equatorial Lakes (NEL) countries project which is a 931km, 220kV project that interconnects the power grids of five countries (Burundi, the DRC, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda) and will have 17 substations.
The interconnection of the NEL power grids project is also coordinated by NELSAP-CU on behalf of the country.
The AfDB has also financed a similar project, the Goma–Buhandahanda interconnection in the DRC that is a 95km, 220kV line that interconnects with Ruzizi III Power Project.
This project is also coordinated by NELSAPCU on behalf of the countries.
NELSAP is one of the two investment programmes under the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) that is a partnership of the riparian states effective 1999.
It seeks to develop the river in a cooperative manner, share substantial socioeconomic benefits and promote regional peace and security through its shared vision.
