Bujagali Dam | |
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River Nile, 5 km (3 mi) downstream of Bujagali Dam. |
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Location | Bujagali, Uganda |
Coordinates | |
Opening date | 2011 |
Construction cost | US$800 million |
Dam and spillways | |
Type of dam | Gravity dam |
Impounds | River Nile |
Power station | |
Commission date | October 2011 (Expected) |
Type | Yes |
Turbines | 5 |
Installed capacity | 250 MW |
Bujagali Power Station is a 250MW hydroelectric power project in Uganda.
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The power station is located across the Victoria Nile, about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) north of Jinja immediately north of the former location of Bujagali Falls. This location lies at the border between Buikwe District to the west and Jinja District to the east. The coordinates of the power station are:00 29 51N, 33 08 24E (Latitude:0.4975; Longitude:33.1400).[1]
As far back as 2001, the Government of Uganda started to plan the construction of a hydroelectric power plant at the location of the Bujagali Falls. The original developers of the project included AES Energy from the United States and the Madhvani Group from Uganda. Due to prolonged and protracted objections from environmentalists inside and outside Uganda, the first project was abandoned in 2003 when AES Energy pulled out of the deal.[2][3]
A new consortium of Sithe Global Power LLC from the United States and Industrial Promotional Services, a division of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), was formed to develop the project. The new developers formed a company called Bujagali Energy Company Limited.[4] Construction of the dam and powerhouse started in June 2007, with loans from the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank. Salini, an Italian construction company was selected to be the lead contractor on the project.[5]
The estimated costs for the dam and power plant is approximately US$800 million. Another US$62 million was spent on building a high voltage transmission line from Jinja to Kawanda, near Kampala, a distance of about 100 kilometres (62 mi). The consortium that is constructing the power station invested approximately US$190 million of their own money into the project. The rest of the funds were borrowed from the following International Lenders:[6]
Completion of the project is expected in 2012, although partial power generation may start as early as 2011.[7] In February 2011, the New Vision newspaper, Uganda's leading daily publication, reported that the first 50MW will become available in October 2011 and the subsequent 50MW additional units will become available every two to three months until the final addition in April 2012.[8] In November 2011, the Daily Monitor, another Ugandan daily newspaper, reported that the first 50MW will be turned on in December 2011.[9]
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