AFR RI-The Eastern Electricity Highway Project under the First Phase of the Eastern Africa Power Integration Program

closed

The development objective of the Regional Eastern Africa Power Pool Project First Adaptable Program Loan (APL1) for Africa is to increase the volume and reduce the cost of electricity supply in Kenya; and to provide revenues to Ethiopia through the export of electricity from Ethiopia to Kenya. There are two components to the project. The first component is construction of a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission interconnection between Ethiopia and Kenya. This component includes four sub components: 1) transmission line. This sub-component will finance the construction of about 1,045 km of bipolar 500 kV HVDC overhead transmission line to interconnect the electricity network of Ethiopia, at the Wolayta/Sodo substation, with the Kenya network, at the Suswa substation. 2) The second sub-component is converter substations. This sub-component will finance the engineering design, construction, and commissioning of one converter substation on each end one in Ethiopia and one in Kenya - of the transmission line to be constructed under first component of the project, and provision of goods required for such construction and for the maintenance and surveillance of the transmission network, including an helicopter for each country. 3) Environmental and social management. This subcomponent will implement the environmental and social management plans, as defined in the ESIAs, the resettlement policy framework in Ethiopia, and the RAPs. Financing will be made available by the project implementing entities. 4) System reinforcement. The sub-component includes reinforcements in Kenya of the substations and other parts of the network necessary to integrate regional interconnections, while managing the increased demand in Kenya at the commissioning time of the interconnection for reliable operation of the Kenyan grid. The second component is project management and capacity building. This component includes two sub components. The first sub-component is project management and supervision; and the second sub-component is capacity building and technical assistance.