Ethiopia, Voith Sign Contract Deal for Gilgel Gibe II

ENA, November 21/219 Ethiopia and Global technology firm Voith agreed to a comprehensive service and operations consultancy contract for Gilgel Gibe II hydro-power plant.
The agreement was inked on the sideline event held at the G20 Investment Summit in Berlin, Germany.

Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Sileshi Bekele and Mark Claessen, Managing Director Voith Hydro East Africa have signed the agreement in the attendance of Peter Altmaier, the German Federal Minister for Economics and Energy.

The central aspect of the two-year service and operations consultancy contract is the optimization of the energy production of the 420MW project.

Voith’s scope of supply comprises the modernization of the maintenance systems, implementation of digital solutions and knowledge transfer through special training programs.

All local activities are exclusively provided by Ethiopian Voith experts.

“Together with the plant operator Ethiopian Electric Power we want to utilize the whole potential of the hydropower plant Gilgel Gibe II. We succeed in this by reducing unplanned downtimes and failures to a minimum,” said Mark Claessen.

He stated that a stable and sustainable energy supply is the foundation for social and economic development in Ethiopia and many other African countries.

Voith supplied four Pelton turbines and generators to the plant as well as the entire mechanical and electrical equipment and also trained the plant operator’s staff.

Before Gilgel Gibe II went into operation, only 15 percent of Ethiopia’s villages were connected to the power grid. Now, half of the rural settlements are supplied with power.

With a hydropower potential of 45,000 megawatts, Ethiopia has one of the largest hydropower resources on the African continent.