Genale-Dawa 3 Project to Boost Local Communities’ Economic benefit: PM Abiy

ENA, February 4/2020 The newly inaugurated Genale-Dawa III hydropower project will help to enhance the economic benefits of Genale and Dawa communities through expanding irrigation development, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said.

On the top of providing electric power to the community, the project will boost irrigation developments in the area that enable to sustain food security, he added.

Abiy called upon Ethiopian investors to begin a new Genale Dawa-6 hydropower plant project to produce energy and expand irrigation in a joint venture with the government of Ethiopia.

Such projects will have paramount significance in changing the livelihood of communities beyond creating access to electricity.  

Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister, Sileshi Bekele on his part said the ministry will continue its effort to fulfill energy demands of the country through conducting feasibility studies on various energy alternatives.

Although Ethiopia has endowed with diverse renewable energy resources, the country has no efficiently used its potential so far, he added.

Ethiopia has already embarked on an eight-year electrification roadmap from 2017 to 2025 to achieve universal electrification.

The inauguration of the Genale-Dawa III hydropower project is part of the move to enhance its electrification coverage across the country from the existing low level to 100 percent by 2025.

Reports showed that two out of three people in Sub-Saharan Africa live without access to electricity.

Likewise, only 45 percent of the population in Ethiopia has got electric energy in the country, he noted.

That's why Ethiopia becomes one of the leading African countries engaged in renewable energy development, the Minister stated.

The ministry will also focus on the development of irrigation in line with expanding hydropower plant projects, Sileshi pointed out.