Published: January 11, 2013
The AfDB loan will go towards cross-border electricity generation.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$115mn, third-round loan agreement with the governments of Kenya and Ethiopia, the government of Ethiopia has confirmed. The loan will go towards a major cross-border electricity transmission line project, due for commissioning in 2017.
The US$1.26bn project received its second loan tranche, worth US$348mn, back in September. When complete, the high-voltage transmission line will extend for 1,068km and have a transfer capacity of 2,000MW.
The project is co-funded by the World Bank, the French Development Agency and by the governments of Ethiopia and Kenya. Its eventual aim is to connect with the power grids of Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic, which should lead to greater regional integration and improved energy security. Rising electricity demand in East Africa has largely been met through the use of expensive power from emergency generators.