Uganda vows to tackle power shortage

Uganda's energy minister has vowed to tackle power shortage facing the country, with high expectations placed on a 183 megawatts hydro-power dam under construction.

Irene Muloni made the statement during a ceremony marking major progress made in the project, attended by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, government officials and Chinese diplomats on Monday.

The Isimba Power Station on White Nile in the central district of Kayunga, some 71 km from the capital Kampala, is expected to increase the East African country's total electric capacity by 23 percent.

The project costs 556 million U.S. dollars, funded by the government and a concessionary loan from the Export-Import Bank of China, and is being carried out by China International Water and Electric Corporation.

Work on the power station started in October, 2013, and will take about 40 months.

"The government is very keen to have this power station operationalized as soon as possible because power demand is growing very fast at 10 percent per year," Muloni said.

She noted that the government didn't want "Ugandans to go through load-shedding again."

"It's something everyone hates," she said, adding that continual efforts would be made to tackle power shortage in the country.

Uganda currently has a power generating capacity of 850 megawatts. Load-shedding is common in the country, particularly rural parts, with only 6 percent of the rural population having access to the national grid. Endit