Ethiopia is hoping to supply power to its neighboring countries after the completion of three hydro power dams at a cost of US$1.4B.
The dams – harnessing power from rivers cascading from Ethiopia’s mountains – are expected to produce a total of 1155MW. Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO)expects the construction of the Tekeze hydro power dam with a capacity of 300MW, Geligele Gibe II (420MW) and the Belesse hydro dam (435MW) to be completed by 2010.
The cost of building the projects was being covered by the Ethiopian government as well as loans from Italy and the European Investment Bank. The construction of a US$68M power line linking Ethiopia to Sudan 194km away is also progressing.