2bn Birr worth of electricity infrastructure enhancement being carried out in Tigray region

Addis Ababa, January 11, 2024 (FBC) – The Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) confirmed that it is undertaking an electricity facility improvement project in the Tigray region, with a projected cost of two billion birr.

Mr. Girmay Gidey, Head of Communications at Tigray Region Electric Utility, has stated that the project aims to upgrade and enhance the electrical infrastructure within the Tigray region.

He asserted that the electricity power supply infrastructure enhancement project is expected to proactively forestall power disruptions in the region.

The intricate measures involve the substitution of archaic wooden utility poles with cutting-edge concrete counterparts, concomitant with a comprehensive refurbishment and renewal of transformers, Girmay indicated.

Notably, 1,500 youthful individuals, strategically organized into 14 occupational associations, have been enlisted to lend their expertise and labor to the project. This multifaceted undertaking seeks to fortify the reliability and robustness of the local power infrastructure, thereby mitigating the vulnerability to power interruptions stemming from issues such as the degradation of wooden poles and the malfunction of transformers, it was learned.

The project has generated employment opportunities for a total of 1,500 youths who are organized into 14 occupational associations.

According to Abraham Kebede, a senior engineer at EEU North District, a significant undertaking is underway to replace wooden utility poles with concrete utility poles along a stretch of 950 kilometers.

With approximately 90 percent of the project already accomplished, Kebede emphasized that the newly installed utility poles are expected to serve for an extended period of 30 to 40 years.