Bujagali Falls

0.4988888888888933.14Koordinaten: 0 ° 29 ' 56 "N, 33 ° 8' 24" E

Bujagali ( Budhagali on Lusoga, spoken by the people of the Kingdom of Busoga Basoga language ) were called rapids at Jinja in Uganda, close to the spot where the Nile leaves Lake Victoria. The rapids (English Bujagali Falls) were named after a family who was in charge from time immemorial for the rapids and the surrounding holy places. On 2 February 2012, the first of five turbines for power generation at the downstream Bujagali dam was put into operation, since the flooding that began in late 2011, the waterfalls are gone.

Bujagali Falls

The Bujagali Falls were at an altitude of 1143 meters. They belonged to a series of waterfalls, rapids and cataracts, which has overcome the Victoria Nile in its course, before it flows via the Lake Kyoga in the north to Lake Albert and these then as Albert Nile leaves again.

Immediately at the point where the Victoria Nile flows from Lake Victoria, and which is still called traditional source of the Nile ( Source of the Nile ), even if this means about 1000 km river course be beat, this is the Ripon were once Falls that their explorer John Hanning Speke was named after the then President of the Royal Geographical Society, and the Owen Falls. With the completion of the Owen Falls Dam in 1954, however, both waterfalls sank in Lake Victoria.

Approximately eight kilometers downstream from the Jinja Bujagali Falls began, which consisted of more than six kilometer-long stretch sequence of five rapids. In the last years before the flooding of a number of tourism opportunities have been created in the area around the rapids, which included with hotels and campsites especially white-water rafting.

In Uganda, which possessed a long time had no fossil fuels, all the waterfalls are advised early on in the field of view of the economy and the authorities responsible for the energy supply of the country places. By far the greatest potential lies here with more than 600 MW, the Murchison Falls to the north of the country, as evidenced by still employed in colonial times studies and accordingly drew up plans. However, these are the fact that they were taken in the 1990s in the natural heritage of UNESCO and is also located in one of the most important national parks in the country as a potential foreign exchange earner, protected for the foreseeable future in front of an industrial use.

Bujagali Dam

The construction of the Bujagali dam and the associated 250 -megawatt power plant has been one of the most controversial development projects worldwide. From its proponents is highlighted that the project given the high rates of growth of the Ugandan economy on the one hand and permanent blackouts and a current power deficit of 120 megawatts on the other hand essential. Project opponents, especially from Western countries, however, have pointed out that the project cost was way overpriced - not least through corruption and disregard of all international practice for project awards of this magnitude. This national resources and international aid money would be wasted. Furthermore, the project due to possible alternatives, and also because of the totally inadequate infrastructure for the distribution of electricity is economically meaningless, and the environment of this region, which is one of the most beautiful in Uganda would suffer irreparable damage.

Financing plan

The first steps towards the realization of the project go back on the year 1994, when there was no question of the Kyoto Protocol and emission rights. In 2000, first was the award to a joint venture of the U.S. AES Corporation and the Uganda Madhvani Group. Funds presented, among others, a subsidiary of the World Bank and also belonging to the KfW German Investment and Development Company (DEG ) ready. In the wake of corruption investigation against the Ugandan partners as well as the withdrawal of AES in the wake of the Enron scandal was the project whose completion was scheduled for 2005, but a temporary halt.

Execution

In December 2005, the signing of a purchase agreement for electric energy between the Ugandan Ministry of Energy and the private development company, Bujagali Energy Ltd., led by the Industrial Promotion Services (IPS ), whose majority shareholder of his Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development ( AKFED ), based in Geneva Karim Aga was is Khan IV. IPS takes over the project by AES Nile Independent Power. The project work is expected in July 2006 Dumbbell Iceland, an island in the Nile at Bujagali, begin.

At a press conference at the site early January 2011 reported to the site manager Keneth Kaheru that the capacity will be 250 MW, " On the first unit, the work is almost complete. End of the year would have three units to be accepted and approved, which then produce electricity " Accordingly, the reservoir must be refilled once only at the beginning, then no more water will consume ". , It is lost nothing. The water that comes in, we use to gain electricity. Then it flows to 100 percent out again. "

In August 2012, the turbines with the commercial operation began. At least four hours per day, the estimated 250 megawatts of electricity, according to Thomas DeLeo, the technical manager of the participating company Sithe Global is generated. In the first year after completion so that the current production of the entire country rose by 44 per cent.