Additional details about Ethiopia’s recently announced 2,000 MW hydropower plant were just released. The Koysha plant will be built on the Omo River and cost $1.5 billion.

Construction of the plant started after talks between Ethiopian Electric Power (EPP) and Italian company Salini Costruttori. According to local media The Reporter, Italian finance institution Servizi Assicuative del Commerce Estrero (SACE) will fund the project.

The project aligns with Ethiopia’s policy to raise its power capacity to more than 17,300 MW, by 2021. To do this, the country relies on the Great Renaissance dam which will, upon its completion in 2017, generate 6,000 MW. A four billion contract was also signed with Reykjavik Geothermal for the construction of a 1,000 MW geothermal plant.

Ethiopia, with a hydroelectric potential of 45,000 MW can produce up to 5,000 MW of geothermal power and is third in Africa, in terms of potential for wind power.

Gwladys Johnson