Ayago Hydroelectric Power Station, also Ayago Power Station, is a planned 840 megawatt hydroelectric power project to be constructed in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. If it is built, Ayago would be the largest power station in Uganda, based on generating capacity.

Location

The power station will be located at Ayago, on the

Victoria Nile The White Nile ( ') is a river in Africa, the minor of the two main tributary, tributaries of the Nile, the larger being the Blue Nile. The name "White" comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color. ...

, in

Nwoya District Nwoya District is a district in Northern Uganda. Like most districts in Uganda, it is named after its main municipal, administrative and commercial center, Nwoya, the location of the district headquarters. Location Nwoya District is bordered by ...

, in the

Acholi sub-region The Acholi people ( , also spelled Acoli) are a Nilotic ethnic group of Luo peoples (also spelled Lwo), found in Magwi County in South Sudan and Northern Uganda (an area commonly referred to as Acholiland), including the districts of Agago, Amu ...

, in the Northern Region of Uganda. This location is close to the point where the ''Ayago River'' enters the

, within the confines of

Murchison Falls National Park Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP) is a national park in Uganda managed by the Ugandan Wildlife Authority. Located in north-western Uganda, it spreads inland from the shores of Lake Albert around the Victoria Nile up to the Karuma Falls. To ...

Overview

Ayago Power Station is a proposed hydroelectric plant that will be constructed on the

, downstream of

Karuma Power Station The Karuma Hydroelectric Power Station is an operational 600 MW hydroelectric power station in Uganda. It is the largest power-generating installation in the country. Location The power station is located on the Victoria Nile, at the forme ...

, but upstream of

Murchison Falls Murchison Falls, also known as Kabalega Falls, is a waterfall in Uganda, located at the apex of Lake Albert on the White Nile. At the top of Murchison Falls, the Nile forces its way through a gap in the rocks, only wide, and tumbles , before fl ...

. The project will be developed in two simultaneous phases, known as Ayago North (estimated capacity:450 MW) and Ayago South (estimated capacity:390 MW). The Ayago Power Station is one of three hydropower projects that have been earmarked for immediate development, together with

(600 MW) and Isimba Power Station (183 MW), to mitigate the chronic, recalcitrant power shortages that have plagued

since the 1990s, and to meet the projected national requirement of 1,130 MW by 2023.

Construction costs

The Indian state-owned energy and manufacturing company,

BHEL Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking and the largest government-owned electrical/ industrial technology company. It is owned by the Government of India, with administrative control under ...

, had estimated the cost of the project at about US$350 million in 2007. But that was for a project with planned capacity of 200 MW to 300 MW, back in 2007. In 2008, the

Government of Japan The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive (government), executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary st ...

, through the

Japan International Cooperation Agency The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...

(

JICA The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gro ...

), in collaboration with the

Government of Uganda The politics of Uganda occurs in an Authoritarianism, authoritarian context. Since assuming office in 1986 at the end of the Ugandan Bush War, Ugandan civil war, Yoweri Museveni has ruled Uganda as an Autocracy, autocrat. Political party, Politi ...

, began preparations for fresh environmental impact assessments, international bidding for a contractor and commitment as a lead funding source for the project. In April 2013, the

awarded the US$1.9 billion construction contract to Mapa Construction and Trading Company Incorporated, a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

infrastructure construction company. However, in August 2013, that award was rescinded and the construction contract was awarded to China Gezhouba Construction Company. It was anticipated that construction would begin in 2020, and last approximately 66 months.

Recent developments

By 2019, the size of Ayago Power Station had been increased from 600 to 840 megawatts. The

government of Uganda The politics of Uganda occurs in an Authoritarianism, authoritarian context. Since assuming office in 1986 at the end of the Ugandan Bush War, Ugandan civil war, Yoweri Museveni has ruled Uganda as an Autocracy, autocrat. Political party, Politi ...

has publicly indicated that it would like the power station built, but it lacks the financial muscle to do so itself. Both ''Mapa Construction and Trade Company'' of Turkey and the

Gezhouba Group China Gezhouba Group Company Limited () is a Chinese construction and engineering company based in Wuhan, Hubei. As of 2014, the company is the 33rd largest contractor by revenue in the world. The major shareholder of the company (40.8%) is stat ...

of China have lost interest in the project, partly due to failure to raise the necessary capital. In February 2020,

Power Construction Corporation of China Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) is a wholly state-owned enterprise under the SASAC of the State Council. The company is active in the heavy and civil engineering construction industry and is involved in infrastructure, ene ...

(PowerChina), a Chinese government-owned engineering and construction conglomerate made formal application to the

Electricity Regulatory Authority The Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) is a government agency that regulates, licenses, and supervises the generation, transmission, distribution, sale, export, and importation of electrical energy in Uganda. Location The offices of the ER ...

(ERA), to design, fund, build, operate and maintain Ayago Power Station. ERA's response to that application has not been made public as of September 2020. The cost of constructing Ayago has also increased to over US$2 billion, on account of the increase in wattage capacity, from the original 600 MW to the current 840 MW. As of February 2025, the government of Uganda was looking for a new investor to develop Ayago HPP.

References

External links