Country Uganda Purpose Power Impounds Victoria Nile Impound White Nile | Location Ayago, Nwoya District Status Proposed Name Ayago Power Station | |
Similar Isimba Hydroelectric Power St, Bujagali Hydroelectric Power St, Nalubaale Hydroelectric Power St, Nyagak Hydroelectric Power St, Murchison Falls National | ||
Ayago Power Station is a proposed 600MW hydroelectric power project to be constructed in Uganda.
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Location
The Power Station will be located at Ayago (sometimes spelled Aiago), on the Victoria Nile, in Nwoya District. This location lies approximately 38 kilometres (24 mi), by road, south of Nwoya, the location of the district headquarters. This location is within the confines of Murchison Falls National Park.
Overview
Ayago Power Station is a 600 megawatts (800,000 hp) hydroelectric power plant that will be constructed on the Victoria Nile, downstream of Karuma Power Station, but upstream of Murchison Falls. The project will be developed in two simultaneous phases, known as Ayago North (estimated capacity:350MW) and Ayago South (estimated capacity:250MW). The Ayago Power Station is one of three hydropower projects that have been earmarked for immediate development, together with Karuma Power Station (600MW) and Isimba Power Station (183MW), to mitigate the chroninic, recalcitrant power shortages that have plagued Uganda since the 1990s, and to meet the projected national requirement of 1,130MW by 2023.
Construction costs
The Indian state-owned energy and manufacturing company, BHEL, had estimated the cost of the project at about US$350 in 2007. But that was for a project with planned capacity of 200MW to 300MW, back in 2007.
In 2008, the Government of Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in collaboration with the Government of Uganda, began new preparations for fresh eviromental impact assessments, International bidding for a contractor and commitment as a lead funding source for the project.
In April 2013, the Government of Uganda awarded the US$1.9 billion construction contract to Mapa Construction and Trading Company Inc., a Turkish infrastructure construction company. However, in August 2013, that award was rescinded and the construction contract was awarded to China Gezhouba Construction Company. As of May 2014, it is not clear when construction will commence.