The State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) is to be the second private company to invest on energy development in the country. The company that has in the past participated on mega transmission line projects in the country has now set out to generate electric power on its own. “We want to work on projects for the government and on our own, in the future. Currently, we are working for the government on the transmission line and on substation projects but we are interested in power generation projects,” says Xiong Feng, Business Division General Manager of SGCC.
Recent developments in Ethiopia’s policy aimed at expanding private sector engagement in the electric production have made State Grid’s ambitions possible. Another energy company, the US-Icelandic Reykjavik Geothermal Ltd, has also entered an agreement with the government to develop 1,000MW of electric power from geothermal resources in the southern parts of the country at a cost of USD 4 billion.
State Grid are also interested in investing on renewable energy in Ethiopia, more specifically investing on wind farm projects by the government and on their own. Details of such a project, such as the project site and amount of investment are unknown but “We are now on preliminary discussions with the government,” said the General Manager.
SGCC has recently completed the biggest ever transmission line and substation for the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).The company is also constructing the Ethiopian part of the Ethio-Kenya transmission line project at the cost of USD 119.3 million and has provided electricity grids for substations in the Addis Ababa light rail transit (LRT) power project, which commenced operation in October last year.
[www.capitalethiopia.com/]