New large-scale power plant in Uganda

Uganda commissioned its largest power generation facility at the end of September 2024. The 600-MW power plant on the Nile River cost $1.7 billion and according to a report by marketscreener.com it was financed with a Chinese loan. The Karuma Hydropower Project, built by the Sinohydro Corporation, increases Uganda‘s power generation capacity to just over 2,000 MW. At the commissioning ceremony in Kiryandogo in northern Uganda, Zhang Lizhong – the Chinese Ambassador, spoke of the power plant as a “showcase project for cooperation between China and Uganda.” Uganda exports electricity to the neighboring countries of Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya, so to transport the electricity a 400-kV, 248-kilometre transmission line was also inaugurated as part of the commissioning process. Karuma is the second Ugandan hydropower plant China has financed in in recent years.