Nyagak hydro-power dam in Nebbi district is under construction, 4km from Paidha town.
One resident rejoiced that they can now vividly se the work on ground with their own eyes after waiting for about 18 years of bargaining for dam construction.
West Nile is not connected to the national power grid though districts like Arua have indulged into trade with neighboring DRC and Sudan to improve their economy.
A few individuals and businesses for all the year have been dependant on thermo generators fro power supply; something that has basically negatively affected growth and development in the region.
In 1998, Uganda Electricity Board (UEB), through a government initiative carried out geological studies that were supposed to result into Dam construction at Nyagak.
New prospects were re-invited with the enactment of the Electricity Act, 1999, which addressed accelerated access of electricity through a rural electrification program.
Nyagak and Kisiizi mini-hydro power project in Rukungiri were brought on board for the program, where government partnered with the private sector in these projects for aid.
The West Nile Rural Electrification Company (WENRECo) bid and won a 20-year concession to generate and supply power in the West Nile. The company started by a heavy fuel thermal generator stationed in Arua in 2004, increasing power supply in the region from 4 to 18 hours per day. This was followed by the construction of a 3.5megawatts Nyagak hydro-power Dam.
The Czech Republic construction firm and Skoda Export ltd are the major contractors and
Currently undertaking work. They have vowed to make history by transmitting the first hydro electric power in the region prior to Christmas.
“All the major tests have been completed now in final stages, â€said Cletus Sserwanga, an onsite geologist .He added that the initial design had proposed an earth dam but recent investigations reveal strong rocks that can sustain a concrete dam.
The dam is to be extended further down to prevent flooding of the Paidha-Arua road.
By Irene Kisakye
>
