The African Development Bank (AfDB) will approve a USD 231 million loan for the Ethiopia-Kenya power systems interconnection project during the current mid-year, according to officials of the bank. Prior to the approval, the board of directors of AfDB is expected to appraise the project during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Halima Hashi, AfDB Ethiopia country program officer told The Reporter.
The Ethio-Kenya interconnection project is projected to provide reliable power supply to Kenya from Ethiopia’s hydropower schemes. The transmission line to be constructed is a high voltage direct current (HVDC) having 400 KV double circuit line.
In Ethiopia, the interconnection project is located in the southern part of the country. The total length of the transmission line inside Ethiopia is about 434 km. It traverses eight administrative woredas and 34 rural kebeles located in two regional states, Southern Nations and Nationalities People’s Regional State (SNNPRS) and Oromia National Regional State.
Ethiopia is expected to generate mi llions of dollars from the Ethio-Kenya power interconnection project in power export, according to experts from Ethiopian Electric and Power Corporation (EEPCo).
In related news, AfDB and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) yesterday signed the same amount of loan for two major road projects linking Ethiopia to Juba in Southern Sudan, and to the trans-East Africa highway stretching from Addis Ababa to Cape Town.
The Bank will provide USD 64 million for the Bedele-Metu road which will stretch 112km and link the country to Southern Sudan, Juba. It will also avail a USD 163 million, the single largest loan AfDB financed here for the road sector, for the 197km Hawassa-Hegeremariam road linking Ethiopia to the trans-East Africa highway that spans a number of countries before culminating in Cape Town.
The road projects are expected to be launched at the end of the current fiscal year, according to Mumina Wa-Kyendo, AfDB chief transport engineer. The loan for the road projects was approved in December and November.
For both projects, the road type to be constructed is asphalt concrete. The projects are expected to be completed in three years’ time.
The road sector constitutes 40 percent of AfDB’s loan portfolio in Ethiopia. It is currently financing aggregate 1000km roads with USD 500 million.
