Premier inaugurates Genale Dawa III hydropower project

Addis Ababa, February 4, 2020 (FBC) –Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed inaugurated today the Genale Dawa III hydropower project.

The 254MW power project was built with $451 million on Dawa River, Southeast Ethiopia.

Launched in 2010, the 110 meter high and 426 meter long dam has the capacity to hold 2.5 billion cubic meters of water.

The project was undertaken by China Gezhouba Group Company Limited (CGGC).

In his remarks at the inauguration ceremony held this morning, the Prime Minister congratulated all who have contributed to make the project a success.

The Genale Dawa III hydropower project is a proof of “our saying that we’ll never give up, but we cut ribbons finishing what we started,” he said.

In addition to generating power, the project will be used for irrigation development, the Prime Minister added.

He also announced government’s plan to build Genale Dawa VI hydropower project, which according to him will require not less than a billion dollars.

The project attracted many foreign investors, but the government’s interest is to build it in joint venture with local investors, the Prime Minister indicated.

Dr Seleshi Bekele, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy said the project will have its own contribution to increase the people’s access to electricity, which currently stand at 45%.

Ethiopia’s current power production stands at 4,400MW and works are underway to generate additional 7,300MW from the Renaissance and Koysha dams, he said.

According to him, two turbines at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will start generating power next year. GERD is scheduled to be fully completed in 2023.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated later in the afternoon an irrigation project built with 36 million birr in west Bale zone, Oromia regional state.

The Welmel river irrigation development project is currently benefiting 1,123 farmers by watering 400 hectares of land. The project has the capacity of watering 11,000 hectares of land to benefit more than 22,000 farmers.

The Prime Minister also laid a foundation stone for the Calcal dam and river irrigation development projects.

The Calcal dam and river irrigation development project, which is also located in Bale zone aims at contributing towards food security and job creation in the Raayituu and Gindhiir woredas.

The dam will rest on 4154.5 kms of space. The project will be executed with a budget of 2.8 billion birr to benefit 8,000 semi-pastoralists and farmers.