Uganda to commission Chinese-financed mega hydropower plant

KAMPALA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Uganda will start unit by unit commissioning of the 600 megawatts Karuma Hydro Power Plant this September to increase power generation in the east African country, an official said.

Matia Kasaija, the minister of finance, planning and economic development, said on Tuesday the plant would be in full use in June next year.

Kasaija said power evacuation transmission lines from the power plant have already been commissioned.

The project, constructed both on the surface and underground, is financed by the Export Import Bank (EXIM) of China. The EXIM bank is financing 85 percent of the project while the rest is funded by the Ugandan government.

Another Chinese-financed power plant, the 183 megawatts Isimba Power Plant is already in operation.

Inadequate power supply is one of the key bottlenecks to Uganda's economic development.