The transmission line will connect the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile River with Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister said.
By Nizar Manek (Bloomberg) |
Sudan will receive electricity from Ethiopia’s flagship dam via a transmission line once Africa’s biggest hydropower plant is complete, the two countries’ leaders said.
The 500 kilovolt line will connect the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile River with Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said last week.
Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir, addressing reporters alongside the premier in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, praised an existing road and telecommunications networks connecting the neighboring nations. He also mentioned plans for the countries to develop a “free economic zone,” without giving further details.
The GERD, scheduled for completion next year, is being built at an estimated cost of $6.4 billion, financed by government bonds, according to a June report by Bloomberg Energy Finance. It’s designed to produce 6,000 megawatts of power, almost triple Ethiopia’s current generating capacity, and would rank among the world’s 10 biggest hydropower plants.
Al-Bashir said an agreement to link a railway from Ethiopia to Port Sudan, which includes a port dedicated to Ethiopia, is “awaiting funds.” Hailemariam said strategic studies for the line have been conducted and Ethiopia has already started to use the port for large consignments such as fertilizer.
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See also:
- Ethiopia: From Water Tower to Power Tower
- What Ethiopia’s Energy Sector Looks Like: Overview
- The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Gets Set to Open
- Tanzania Plans to Import 400 MW of Electricity from Ethiopia
- Development of Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)
- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir Secures Free Trade Zone Agreement with Ethiopia in Addis Ababa