Infrastructure lags in Africa, but China is prioritizing it while also adding renewables – particularly in Ethiopia. The World Bank estimated that infrastructure projects in the East African country would need a capital investment equivalent to 19% of Ethiopia’s GDP during 2011-2012. Chinese companies garnered $18.82 billion in contracts as of December 31, and about half of that amount signifies projects that have already been completed.
China has completed 24 foreign aid projects in Ethiopia including the Aba Samuel Hydropower Plant and the Addis Ababa Municipal Road. The China Road and Bridge Corp. has built more than 2,000 km of roads since it arrived in the country 15 years ago.
In 2011, the China-Aid Wind Power & Solar Energy Master Plan was developed with Hydro China giving its subsidiary Hydro-China International Engineering Co. Ltd. the right to organize and manage the proposal. Beijing Engineering Corp. was also entrusted with the implementation of the master plan, although the details of the plan itself has not been publicly listed.
One of the projects to come about was the Adama Wind Farm Project, East Africa’s first grid-connected wind farm and the second phase of the scheme has been launched. The Adama project saw 51 MW of energy installed via 34 towers at a capacity of 1.5 MW each, and the second installation hopes to triple the energy generated to 153 MW by April. And then a MoU was signed for further study of Ethiopia’s hydropower potential – an area which Chinese firms are already well involved in the construction.
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