Kenya-Ethiopia Electricity Interconnection Reaches Testing Stage

The Ethiopian part of the 1.26-billion-dollar Eastern Electricity Highway Project that connects Ethiopia with Kenya is set to be completed next month.

Built by China Electric Power Equipment and Technology (CET), the project connects the Kenyan and Ethiopian power grids.

The high voltage electric line, which is a result of the joint venture of the two countries, has a capacity of carrying up to 2,000 megawatts and covers 1,055Km, while 433Km of the total electric highway lies within Ethiopian borders.

The construction of the power transmission line has already been completed in August 2019, and the highway is only awaiting finalisation of the construction of a substation, according to Moges Mekonnen, communication director of Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP).

After the construction of the substation is completed, the testing will be implemented within five months, and the highway will be ready for power transmission by April 2020.

Wolayta Sodo is the starting point for the 500kV line, and the overhead transmission lines are supported by approximately 38m-high and 15m-wide steel towers and sit on 4m-deep reinforced concrete foundations. The width of the line corridor ranges between 50m and 60m.

From the overall investment in the project, the World Bank provided a loan of 684 million dollars, while the African Development Bank and the French Development Agency are providing 338 million dollars and 118 million dollars, respectively.

The government of Ethiopia and the government of Kenya funded 32 million dollars and 88 million dollars, respectively.