The Government of Uganda and economic and social development agency, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), have awarded a $3.6 million contract to multinational engineering, procurement, and development (EPC) company, Elsewedy Electric’s Indonesia subsidiary to strengthen the power transmission network in the Kampala metropolitan area, southern Uganda.
Under the contract Elsewedy Electric Indonesia will supply the Kampala metropolitan area with a 20 MVA 132/133-11 kV Mobile Substation, the first such substation in Africa.
The mobile unit will serve to rapidly connect Uganda’s urban and metropolitan areas to the country’s national grid while providing optimum mobility to remote locations in the future.
“Hand-in-hand with one of the world’s most prominent end-to-end EPC services’ providers, and revolutionary power transformers/mobile substations’ manufacturers, today, UETCL is joining forces with Elsewedy Electric Indonesia to efficiently equip Uganda’s metropolitan area with reliable power supply,” Karamagi stated, adding, “We are looking forward to further leverage the use of Elsewedy electric’s avant-garde 20 MVA 132/133-11 kV Mobile Substation at our national oil and gas exploration, mining, irrigation, and construction sites to guarantee a more sustainable future for our country.”
With an urban electrification rate of approximately 60%, the development and utilization of innovative technologies are poised to play an important role in Uganda’s socioeconomic development. As such, the Government of Uganda has sought to facilitate international cooperation to support energy projects and boost electrification rates in the East African country.