KAMPALA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday inspected the construction work of the country's largest hydro power plant financed by China.
Museveni accompanied by government officials, Chinese ambassador to Uganda and local leaders toured Karuma Power Plant in the midwestern district of Kiryandongo.
"I want to thank the Chinese government because we made a contribution from the government of Uganda money, but the bigger money came from a soft loan from China," said Museveni.
Uganda contributed 15 percent as counterpart funding while China Export and Import Bank is providing financing of up to 85 percent. The total cost is 1.4 billion dollars for the generation plant.
He also hailed Sinohydro, the main contractor of the electricity infrastructure for the good work of ensuring the provision of 600 megawatts instead of the initial 200 megawatts that was suggested by the other companies.
Irene Muloni, minister of energy and mineral development, said the project is now in its fifth year of construction, noting that it will be completed by the end of next year.
Zheng Zhuqiang, Chinese ambassador to Uganda, thanked Museveni for supporting the project, which symbolizes China-Uganda economic cooperation, and has employed over 6,000 Ugandans during construction.
"When completed, the plant will generate four billion Kilowatt hours annually and provide more than 200 million dollars in revenue to the government, which is close to 1 percent of Uganda's current gross domestic product," the ambassador said.
