ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia has commissioned a Chinese built 433-km electrical transmission line connecting its power grid to neighboring Kenya, an Ethiopian official said on Friday.
The 433-km electrical transmission line is part of the 1,055-km Ethiopia-Kenya transmission line. The rest 622-km transmission line is located in Kenya.
Speaking to Xinhua, Moges Mekonen, Communication Director at Ethiopia Electric Power (EEP), said China Electric Power Equipment and Technology (CEPET) Corporation has completed the construction of the Ethiopian side of the Ethiopia-Kenya electricity transmission line.
"The electricity transmission line has already been commissioned and is currently in the testing phase. What is remaining is the completion of the Kenyan side of the project after which preparations can start to fully inaugurate the electricity transmission line," Mekonen told Xinhua.
The project which is expected to cost about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars is funded by the African Development Bank and the World Bank.
The electricity transmission line will have a transmitting capacity of some 2,000 megawatt (MW) once it is fully completed.
The energy sector is one of Ethiopia's priorities as the country envisages to become a light manufacturing hub in Africa together with a middle-income economy by 2025.
Ethiopia plans to increase its current 4, 300 MW electricity generation capacity to 17, 300 MW by 2025, with power generation projects in hydro, wind, geothermal and biomass sectors.
