Muvumbe Hydroelectric Power Station

Muvumbe Hydroelectric Power Station is a 6.5 megawatts (8,700 hp) hydroelectric power station in the Western Region of Uganda.[1]

Muvumbe Small Hydro Power Project
Map of Uganda showing the location of Maziba
CountryUganda
LocationMaziba, Kabale District
Coordinates01°19′07″S 30°04′44″E
StatusOperational
Commission dateMarch 2017[1]
Owner(s)Muvumbe Hydro Uganda Limited
Power generation
Nameplate capacity6.5 MW (8,700 hp)

Location

The power station was built across the River Nyakijumba (also known as the River Maziba or the River Muvumbe), a tributary of the Kagera River.[1] The station is in Kigarama village in Nyanja parish, Maziba Sub-county, Kabale District, in south-western Uganda, close to the international border with Rwanda.[1] This is approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), by road, southeast of the town of Kabale, where the district headquarters are located.[2] Maziba is approximately 410 kilometres (250 mi), by road, south-west of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda.[3] The coordinates of the power station are 1°19'07.0"S, 30°04'44.0"E (Latitude=-1.318611; Longitude=30.078889).[4]

History

The new power plant lies at the site of a smaller 1.6 megawatts (2,100 hp) hydroelectric power plant that was constructed in 1966 but went out of commission in 2002 due to disrepair and silting.[5] In 2009, a new feasibility study was carried out by Lahmeyer International, a German consulting engineering firm, paving way for the new power plant.[6] In April 2014, Muvumbe Hydro (Uganda) Limited applied for a power production license from the Electricity Regulatory Authority to generate and sell 6.5 megawatts of hydroelectric power at this power station. The power will be sold to the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited and integrated into the national grid.[7] Construction started in September 2015 and is expected to last 18 months.[1]

Construction costs

The estimated costs for the dam and power plant is US$18 million (approximately UGX:64 billion).[1] Construction funds will be sourced jointly by the Sri Lankan developers and the government of Uganda.[8] In January 2015, Ugandan Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda indicated that funding for the dam had been secured from Germany. Muvumbe Hydro Uganda Limited, a subsidiary of Vidullanka Plc. of Sri Lanka, owns the development rights to the project.[9]

Construction timeline

Construction started in September 2015[1] and commercial power production began in March 2017.[10]

See also

References
  1. Muhereza, Robert (23 September 2015). "Work on Shs64b Kabale hydropower dam starts". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  2. "Road Distance Between Kabale And Maziba With Map". Globefeed.com. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  3. "Map Showing Kampala And Maziba With Distance Marker". Globefeed.com. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  4. Google (23 September 2015). "Location of Maziba Power Station At Google Maps" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  5. "Rehabilitation Small Hydropower Station Maziba Gorge". Lahmeyer International. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  6. "Consulting For Maziba Hydro-Power Plant In Uganda". Devex.com. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  7. ERA (8 April 2014). "Application For A License for The Establishment of 6.5MW Hydro Power Plant In Kabale District". Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA). Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  8. Our, Reporter (26 August 2013). "Kabale To Get 6.5 MW Power Station". Red Pepper (Uganda). Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  9. Mwesigwa, Alon (20 January 2015). "Germany to fund Kabale power dam". The Observer (Uganda). Kampala. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  10. ESI (17 March 2017). "Uganda set to connect 6.5MW hydropower plant". ESI-Africa News (ESI). Retrieved 16 August 2017.
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