ADDIS ABABA (ENA / Salini Impregilo S.p.A) – Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and Koysha Hydroelectric Project contractor Salini Impregilo bestowed platinum award for loyally taxpaying of 1.4 billion birr and pledges to strengthen its allegiance.
Over 160 companies from customs and domestic taxpayers were awarded platinum, gold and silver in recognition for paying taxes loyally and compliance behavior on Saturday at the National Palace.
In an exclusive interview with the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA), Salini Impregilo Branch Manager to Ethiopia, Andrea Scanzani, said “We are very happy about this recognition and we are very proud to contribute for the growth of the country.”
Mr. Scanzani noted, “We paid the 1.4 billion birr and we will continue to do so. It will be impractical not to pay a tax not only in Ethiopia but also all over the world.”
A country can go nowhere unless taxes are paid loyally and on time, the branch manager said, and questions “Can you imagine where we will go if we do not pay taxes?”
Stating that his company is building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and Koysha Hydroelectric Project, Scanzani noted “We are to finalize the projects very soon.”
“This project is important not only for the country but also for the region, for the neighboring countries and will help Ethiopia to earn foreign currency,” he elaborated.
He explained that Salini Impregilo is contributing towards the country’s development by capacitating the youth and transferring technology during the construction of the dams.
According to him, construction of the Renaissance Dam will soon be finalized and handover to Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), the sole commissioner of the projects.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) Project The project is located approximately 500 km north west of the capital Addis Ababa, in the region of Benishangul-Gumuz along the Blue Nile. At the end of the works, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will be the largest dam in Africa: 1,800 m long, 155 m high and with a total volume of 10.4 million m³.
The GERD project, whose construction cost is expected to be 4 billion US dollars upon completion, involves the construction of a main dam in Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC), with 2 power stations installed at the foot of the dam. The power stations are positioned on the right and left banks of the river and comprise 16 Francis turbines with a total installed power of 6,000 MW and estimated production of 15,000 GWh per year. The project is completed by a 15,000 m3/s capacity concrete spillway and a rockfill saddle dam 5 km long and 50 m high, both located on the left bank.
The Koysha Hydroelectric Project
The new Koysha hydroelectric project, located in the southwest of the country, will be the fourth of a cascade of dams along the Omo River, after Gilgel Gibe I, Gilgel Gibe II and the Gibe III hydroelectric project.
The Koysha plant will have an installed capacity of 2,200 MW for an annual production of 6,460 GWh.
The project, commissioned by the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), includes: an RCC gravity dam, 170m high with a crest length of 1000 m with a 9 billion cubic metre capacity reservoir within the dam body leading to an outdoor power station housing 8 x 270 MW Francis Turbines, concrete spillway on the left side of the valley and two culverts to divert the river flow during the construction of the dam on the right side. Other permanent works include: a bridge over the Omo River and camps including facilities for the client. The project also includes the access roads, a new bridge over the river and a 400 KW transmission line from Koysha to Gibe III.
This important new project, together with GIBE III and GERD (the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) on the Blue Nile, will enable Ethiopia to become Africa’s leader in terms of energy production. The projet’s cost of construction is expected to be around 2.8 billion US dollars upon completion.
About Salini Impregilo S.p.A
Salini Impregilo S.p.A is an Italian industrial group specializing in the construction of large, complex civil infrastructures in five continents. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, the company was formally founded in 2014 as the result of the merger by incorporation of Salini into Impregilo (which was founded in 1959). Salini Impregilo is the largest Italian engineering and general contractor group and a global player in the construction sector.
Operating in nearly 50 countries with more than 35,000 employees, new orders of € 6 billion and a total backlog reaching € 33.4 billion (as of 2018), Salini Impregilo is one of the major global players in the construction sector and a leader in the water sector as well as transport.
Sources: ENA/ Salini Impregilo S.p.A