FRIDAY, NOON:
SOUTH African electricity parastatal Eskom plans to bid for parts of the Uganda Electricity Board’s operations when it is privatised, and is looking for other African investment opportunities, chairman Reuel Khoza said this week.
A delegation led by Khoza is in the midst of a trip to Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Tanzania. Uganda plans to privatise its electricity distribution functions, leaving its Board to concentrate on power generation. While building a 200MW extension to its 180MW Owen Falls Dam power station, Uganda has licensed two Nile Independent Power and Arab Contractors to construct power stations on the Nile.
Eskom plans to channel 50% of new investment into sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years. Currently, the group’s only non-South African interest is an investment in the rebuilding of Cahora Bassa’s line to South Africa. Uganda’s demand for power is growing rapidly, fueled mainly by a manufacturing sector growing at an average 13% annually.