East Africa set to produce 7,480MW
What you need to know:
- The African Development Bank has prioritized a number of energy projects to the EAC under the $2.5 billion support approved last October.
Arusha. The East African Community (EAC) will have a combined generation of 7,480 MW of electricity by 2022.
This will be realised through the $2.5 billion approved by the African Development Bank (AfDB) for infrastructure projects in the region.
Currently, the combined total installed capacity of power in East Africa is upwards of 5,000 megawatts, according to multiple sources.
Statistics from the EAC partner states -with the exception of South Sudan – shows that hydropower currently accounts for more than a half of electricity but that the region is fastly diversifying to other sources such as natural gas, solar and wind in their energy mixes.
“There has an unprecedented level of resources mobilised in this sector,” the EAC secretary general Liberat Mfumukeko said here on Wednesday.
He revealed this after brief consultations here with the bank’s director general for Eastern Africa region Gabriel Negatu.
Last October, the pan African bank approved $2.5 billion to support Regional Integration Strategy for Eastern Africa (RISP 2018-2022).
The funds will go towards enhancing regional transport and ICT connectivity, regional energy infrastructure and water projects.
