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EU to upgrade Ugandan power plants with Є60 million Euro

Published

1 year ago

October 30, 2023

The European Union (EU) has announced plans to invest 60 million euros ($63 million) in upgrading one of Uganda’s largest hydropower plants.

EU’s ambassador to Uganda, Jan Sadek told a mining conference in the capital, Kampala on Monday that the funding would partially help the East African country plug a financing gap for its ageing energy infrastructure. The Nalubaale and Kiira hydropower plant complex, located at the source of the River Nile at Jinja in Uganda’s east, produces about 380 megawatts (MW). It is Uganda’s oldest power plant, commissioned in 1954.

The fund announcement is a positive fallout following a backlash against Uganda after its harsh legislation against the LGBTQ+ community which triggered financial sanctions against the country from the United States and other bodies like the EU, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Prior to now, South African power giant, Eskom ran the plant under a 20-year concession that ended early this year, after which the government retook control.

“We’ll be investing some 60 million euros… in the rehabilitation of Kiira and Nalubaale hydropower plants in order to provide reliable energy for Uganda’s industrialization,” Sadek said.

Sadek did not specify whether the funding would come from a grant or credit or when the work would start. According to him, the funding will be provided through the EU’s global gateway strategy which aims to support the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The underfunding of Uganda’s energy infrastructure has resulted in widespread outages and occasional catastrophic failures as older components of the system age. The country currently has an installed capacity of 1,400 MW, primarily from its hydroelectric dams. This year, the Chinese-built Karuma plant, also on the Nile, will be serviced, increasing Uganda’s power capacity to 2000 MW.

Related Topics:European Union Featured Uganda

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

7 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.