ADDIS ABABA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia plans to earn 290 million dollars annually from energy export by 2019, when the Ethio-Kenya electricity transmission and distributions lines are completed.
The statement was made on Friday by Bizuneh Tolcha Public Relations and Communications Director at the Ethiopia Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE) who says both countries have already agreed that Kenya will import 400 Mega Watts (MW) of Energy from its northern neighbor.
Ethiopia already earns about 80 million dollars of revenue annually by selling about 100 MW of energy to Sudan and 80 MW of energy to Djibouti.
"Ethiopia already has commissioned the 1870 MW Gibe III hydro dam which the country expects to be largely the source of electricity exports to Kenya, once the infrastructure works is finished" says Tolcha.
However, he says the Ministry is mindful that only about 56 percent of the population has access to the electricity grid and only 25 percent of household is connected to electricity in Ethiopia, and as such is undertaking large scale energy projects, electricity transmission and distribution lines to interconnect it.
With a rising domestic demand as well as a desire to be a regional energy hub, Ethiopia is constructing Africa's largest hydro project a 6450 MW dam on Blue Nile River, which it hopes once completed will meet domestic demands and meet energy needs of foreign nations as far north to Egypt and as far south to Burundi.
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The statement was made on Friday by Bizuneh Tolcha Public Relations and Communications Director at the Ethiopia Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE) who says both countries have already agreed that Kenya will import 400 Mega Watts (MW) of Energy from its northern neighbor.
Ethiopia already earns about 80 million dollars of revenue annually by selling about 100 MW of energy to Sudan and 80 MW of energy to Djibouti.
"Ethiopia already has commissioned the 1870 MW Gibe III hydro dam which the country expects to be largely the source of electricity exports to Kenya, once the infrastructure works is finished" says Tolcha.
However, he says the Ministry is mindful that only about 56 percent of the population has access to the electricity grid and only 25 percent of household is connected to electricity in Ethiopia, and as such is undertaking large scale energy projects, electricity transmission and distribution lines to interconnect it.
With a rising domestic demand as well as a desire to be a regional energy hub, Ethiopia is constructing Africa's largest hydro project a 6450 MW dam on Blue Nile River, which it hopes once completed will meet domestic demands and meet energy needs of foreign nations as far north to Egypt and as far south to Burundi.
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