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Ethiopia moves closer to electricity export

Addis Ababa (PANA) - Ethiopian authorities have ushered in 2010 with the commissioning of a 420-megawatt power station, the Gilgel Gibe II, drawing the East African nation closer to its dream to export electricity to its regional neighbours.

The power plant is located some 300 kilometres west of capital, Addis Ababa, and is developed from the first phase of the Gibe I, which has been commissioned.

The Gibe III is the biggest power plant currently under construction in Africa.

Ethiopian government officials say the 1,100 Megawatts power station, which will be achieved with the construction of one of the deepest dams within the continent, is under construction.

It is estimated that 30 per cent of the civil works is complete.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the visiting Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini presided over the commissioning of the Gibe II power project on Wednesday, built from a combined loan from the Italian government and the Europea n Investment Bank.

Ethiopia hopes to export huge quantities of electric power to neighbouring Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan and has also included an across-the-sea export of extra capacity to Yemen once the construction of a series of nine dams is complete, officials said.

The construction of the Gibe II power project, estimated to cost the Ethiopian authorities some 373 million euros, commenced in 2004 along the Omo River.

An Italian firm, Salini Construttori, has been undertaking the civil works on the power plant.

Ethiopia has received 220 million euros for the power project from the Italian government while an additional loan of 50 million euros, has been extended by the European Investment Bank.

Another power project, the Tekeze Hydropower, a 300 MW power station, was commissioned late in 2009, easing the pressure on local firms, which suffered when the country was forced to introduce powercuts in the face of poor rains across the country.

The Tekeze power project was undertaken by Chinese construction firms, China Gezhouba Group and Sino-Hydro, according to the Ethiopian government.

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