By Spy Uganda
Egypt has handed over Busia solar power station to the Uganda as part of cooperation efforts between the two countries.
Egyptian Ambassador to Uganda Ashraf Swailem said during the ceremony that the four-megawatt (MW) project is an important addition to the Egyptian projects in Uganda, and will be connected to the national electricity grid so that other areas benefit from the energy generated by the station. The project is a continuation of the Egyptian development projects implemented in Uganda and the African continent, with the goal to advance development in vital fields, he added.
Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ruth Sentamu stressed in a tweet the importance of the energy sector in the country’s plans for a better future for the citizens and for boosting economic and social development.
According to Swailem, the Foreign Ministry’s Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development financed the project with USD 6 million.
The solar power plant was implemented by the Arab Renewable Energy Company in cooperation with Giza System Company. The Arab Renewable Energy Company is one of the Arab Organization for Industrialization Companies’ subsidies.
The Egyptian ambassador added that the Busia station project was another example of the great improvement in Egyptian-Uganda relations during the recent period, listing the recent Egyptian projects in the country, which includes the opening of the medical center in Jinja last October and the inauguration of a new phase in joint Egyptian model farm in November and the continuation of the projects carried out by the Egyptian irrigation mission such as removing weeds from Ugandan lakes.
The ambassador explained that the Egyptian support to the plant project in Uganda comes from a belief in the importance of renewable energy to face the repercussions of climate change in Africa and to adapt to it, coinciding with Egypt’s presidency of the twenty-seventh session of the UN Conference on Climate Change “COP27”, which Sharm El-Sheikh will host at the end of this year.
Experts say that Egypt’s efforts to develop relations with African countries and the provision of economic and social support is in Cairo’s interest in light of the ongoing crisis with Ethiopia over the latter’s controversial dam on the Blue Nile.
Egypt’s Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Abdel Aty revealed during a visit to Uganda in December 2021 that his country built seven dams in Uganda and dug 75 underground wells as part of Egypt’s support to African countries in the water field.
In April 2021, Uganda announced that it signed with Egypt a military intelligence sharing agreement.
