Genale III ‘to Start Generating Electricity within 2 Months’
ADDIS ABEBA – Genale Daw III hydropower dam will start to generate electric power in less than two months, said Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) official on Monday.
The dam is built on Genale-Dawa River Basin in southeastern Ethiopia, 630 Km away from the capital Addis Ababa.
The dam, with a capacity to hold 2.57 billion cubic meters of water, is already connected with the 400 Kilovolt Yirga Alem power distribution station.
The 451-million-USD dam project will generate 254MW, said Abraham Belay (Ph.D.), CEO of EEP.
Abraham said the majority of works has been completed. “We are at a testing stage,” he told members of parliament.
Genale III hydroelectric dam is being built by China Gezhouba Group and expected to raise Ethiopia’s installed electricity generating capacity to 4,541 MW.
Abraham noted that although the project was commenced eight years ago issues related to compensation for people who were relocated from the construction area had made for the project to delay by at least three years.
Chinese Exim Bank provided 60 percent of the finance for the construction of the dam while the Ethiopian government covered the rest.
Ethiopia plans to increase its current 4,300 MW electricity generation capacity to 17, 300 MW by 2025, with power generation projects in hydro, wind, geothermal and biomass sectors.
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By Sisay Sahlu
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