July 12, 2007 - Ibrahim Kasita - allafrica.com

Power transmission interconnection for East Africa will cost about $1,083.2m (sh1,776b), Mac Cosgrove-Davies, the World Bank's senior energy specialist, has said.

The project aims at enabling Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Eritrea and Ethiopia share power in case one of the countries has a power shortage.

"Four building blocks form the East African Power Pool. Lake Victoria Transmission Ring, Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya Interconnector, Ethiopia-Kenya Interconnector and Regional Rusumo Falls Hydro-electric and Multipurpose Project with the backbone transmission network between the East African Community in Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi," Cosgrove-Davies said while presenting a paper at a workshop at the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel, Entebbe.

"The financing source of such projects will include multilateral development banks, other development finance institutions, commercial banks, self-financing, governments, private investors and supply credit," he said.

Cosgrove-Davies said the World Bank is financing a number of regional power initiatives.

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