Ethiopia: Genale Dawa III completed

Ethiopian Electric Power held a ceremony on 4 February on 4 Februaryto mark completion of the 254MW Genale Dawa III hydropower plant on the Dawa River in south-east Ethiopia. The plant was built by China Gezhouba Group over nine years at a total cost of $451m, of which 85% was financed through a loan from Export-Import Bank of China. The remaining 15% ($67.8m) was covered by the Ethiopian government. The plant is designed to produce 1640 GWh/yr once it starts commercial operation, which is expected no sooner than this May, according to Canadian engineering consultancy Stantec.