Italian construction company Salini Impregilo has won a contract to build a hydroelectric plant for state-owned utility firm Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP)
The US$2.8bn mega project will have an installed capacity of 2.2GW. The dam will be built in southern Koysha region on the lower bank of Gibe river. The project encompasses a 170 metres high rolled compacted concrete (RCC) dam with a reservoir volume of 6,000mn cu/m, which will have an annual power generation capacity of 6,460GWh.
Local media sources have reported that EEP received a large portion of financing for the project from the Italian financial firm Servizi Assicuative del Commerce Estero.
Salini Impregilo said in a statement, “Ethiopia has been rapidly growing for many years now, and will soon become the driving force of the African continent. As of today, Ethiopia exports energy to Kenya, Sudan and Djibouti, its closest countries. The authorities do not exclude reaching markets like Europe and the Middle East in view of the potential of the hydroelectric plants being built.”
This new project together with Gibe III, which went into operation in September 2015 and the Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, which is due to be completed soon, will enable Ethiopia to become Africa’s leader in terms of energy production, the company statement forecasted.
