Project Showcase

The project proposes electricity interconnections from the Grand Inga hydropower station through a northern axis, southern axes using eastern and western corridors, and a western axis. The generation and transmission infrastructure is intended to supply the Democratic Republic of Congo and wider African markets. World Bank documentation explains that the full Inga resource could eventually be developed through several projects sharing common site infrastructure, while the next project-Inga 3- may be configured at different scales. Earlier studies examined a 4,800 MW option and later concepts reached approximately 11,000 MW. The approved development programme therefore focuses first on helping the DRC prepare the project and prepare the country and affected communities to benefit from it. The first phase supports water, electricity, roads, skills, governance, environmental and social work and technical decision-making.

The project will construct a hydropower dam and power station on the Cunene River at the Angola-Namibia border, downstream of the Epupa Falls. The station is planned with a capacity of approximately 600 MW, shared equally between Angola and Namibia, and will operate mainly as a mid-merit and peaking facility. The scheme includes the dam, reservoir, turbines, power station, switchyard, ancillary structures and transmission connections to the two national grids. Its operation will vary seasonally according to river flows and electricity demand. Verified implementation and technical context: Baynes is governed through binational cooperation on the Cunene River and must be developed together with the transmission facilities needed to deliver each country's share of power. The AfDB advisory programme supports the two governments and utilities in defining a bankable structure, preparing the project for financing and coordinating the hydropower and transmission components. The plant is intended to provide flexible and peaking renewable generation that complements variable regional supply and reduces the need for expensive peak-period imports. The current official configuration is approximately 600 MW; older higher-capacity figures should not remain in the database without an approved design source.

The power plant will be located on the Ruzizi River, which forms the common border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, approximately five kilometres west of Bugarama in Rwanda's Western Province. Ruzizi IV will be developed near the existing Ruzizi I and II plants and the planned Ruzizi III plant. The facility is planned as the fourth hydropower station in the cascade, with an installed capacity of 287 MW. The generated electricity will be shared equally among Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. Verified implementation and technical context: The project is being prepared through regional institutions responsible for the Ruzizi basin and Great Lakes electricity cooperation. AfDB records describe a 287 MW plant intended to complete development of the remaining hydropower potential in the cascade. The preparation programme includes engineering and planning studies, environmental and social analysis, institutional arrangements, financial modelling and the definition of an implementation structure that can serve all three participating countries. Any current profile must avoid importing financing, procurement or construction milestones from Ruzizi III, which is a separate project with a different development history.

The Ethiopia-Sudan Power System Interconnection Project (Grand Renaissance-New Rabak, New Jabel Awelya) connects power generated by Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), via Assosa, to new substations at Rabak and Jebel Aulia near Khartoum in Sudan. The Ethiopia-Sudan Power System Interconnection Project involves constructing a 590 km, 500 kV high-voltage transmission line linking Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) with Sudan's power grid, terminating at new substations in Rabak and Jebel Aulia near Khartoum. This interconnector is designed to facilitate the export of clean hydropower from Ethiopia's GERD, with a generation capacity of 5,150 MW, to Sudan, enabling Sudan to reduce reliance on thermal power and lower greenhouse gas emissions. The project includes upgrading substations at GERD, Rabak, and Jebel Aulia, and aims to improve power supply reliability and meet peak demand variability between the two countries. It is a key component of the Eastern Nile Power System and the continental PIDA program, promoting.

The approved project comprises a 98 km transmission line operating at 220 kV. It was identified as a least-cost transmission investment in the Tanzania Power System Master Plan and the East African Community Power System Master Plan. The line will connect the Ugandan and Tanzanian grids around the Lake Victoria zone and provide regional transmission capacity for electricity exchange. Verified implementation and technical context: The World Bank's current project design places the Ugandan investment within the Regional Energy Transmission, Trade and Decarbonization for Eastern Africa (RETRADE-EA) programme. It includes the 260 km Wobulenzi-Masaka-Mutukula line, extension of the Wobulenzi substation, a new Masaka substation, environmental and social mitigation, livelihood restoration, project-management support and institutional strengthening for integrated-system operation and regional power trade. UETCL is responsible for the Ugandan package, while TANESCO is responsible for the corresponding Tanzanian investments under intergovernmental and inter-utility coordination arrangements. Note: Because the current 400 kV configuration differs from the original 98 km, 220 kV original submission, the database preserves the baseline while clearly recording that the implementation programme has been technically reconfigured.

The project is part of the ECOWAS Master Plan's renewable-energy subprogramme for an integrated and efficient West African electricity system. It will develop a scalable, multiphase and multi-site solar power park in Mali with a potential capacity of 150 MW. The selected sites are Fana, Bougouni and Sanankoroba around Bamako. Verified implementation and technical context: The project is intended to aggregate solar development into a regional-scale investment connected to the West African Power Pool rather than treat each site as an unrelated national plant. Preparation must confirm solar resource, land, grid connection, transmission capacity, environmental and social requirements, commercial structure, phased capacity and the relationship among the Fana, Bougouni and Sanankoroba sites. Desert-to-Power reporting confirms that regional on-grid and off-grid solar programmes are being advanced through pre-feasibility work. Construction or financing of a separate solar facility at one location must not automatically be reported as implementation of the full PP2 regional park.

The Uganda (Nkenda) - DR Congo (Beni-Butembo-Bunia-Mabuki) Power Transmission Inter-Connection Project is a strategic regional infrastructure initiative aimed at constructing a 400 kV double-circuit high voltage transmission line spanning 352.2 km, linking Nkenda substation in Kasese, Western Uganda, to new substations at Beni, Butembo, Bunia and Mabuki in the North Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The project includes upgrading the Nkenda substation and aims to integrate the isolated and eastern DRC power grid with Uganda's national grid, thereby enhancing electricity reliability, security, and access in the region. It supports optimal utilization of generation resources, promotes regional power trade, and facilitates least-cost power expansion projects, contributing to socio-economic development and environmental sustainability. Sponsored by the Nile Basin Initiative/Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NBI/NELSAP), Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL), and Société Nationale d'Électricité (SNEL), the project is aligned with the East African Power Pool (EAPP) Master Plan to create a regional power highway which aims to maximise the affordable availability of electricity around the region. Increasing power trade is key to this aspiration.

The project consists of completing the environmental and social impact assessment, updating the tender documents and carrying out the transmission works required to connect Inga, Cabinda and Pointe-Noire. The infrastructure forms part of the wider regional electricity loop serving Inga, Moanda, Boma, Cabinda, Pointe-Noire, Brazzaville and Kinshasa and of a future Central African transmission backbone. The regional concept is intended to create a stronger coastal and western Central African electricity corridor by connecting the Inga generation area and western DRC with Cabinda and Pointe-Noire and, over time, with other CAPP systems. Project-preparation support has included feasibility and tender-document work, while the CAPP acceleration programme treats the investment as requiring further commercial and financial structuring. Official documents refer to different technical configurations for route length, voltage and transfer capacity. Those versions should be reconciled before the database replaces its approved PP2 technical dimensions.

Construction of a transmission line (580 km / 500 kV) that connects the power networks of Ethiopia and Sudan to facilitate trading in electricity and promote power systems stability. The interconnector will have a transmission capacity of 3000 MW. The Project also includes two new, 500kV capacitated substations at Rabak and Jebel Aulia (both in Sudan), and power line bay extensions at the following existing substations: Grand Renaissance (500kV Ethiopia), Rabak (220kV, Sudan) and Jebel Aulia (220kV, Sudan). Construction of a 500kV transmission line and the associated substations that connects the power networks of Ethiopia and Sudan to facilitate trading in electricity and promote power systems stability. The line will be 580 km in total, 564 km in Sudan, terminating in Khartoum, 16 km in Ethiopia, terminating at the Grand Renaissance Dam. The Project also includes two new, 500 kV capacitated substations at Rabak and Jebel Aulia (both in Sudan), and power line bay extensions at the following existing substations: Grand Renaissance (500kV Ethiopia), Rabak (220kV, Sudan) and Jebel Aulia (220kV, Sudan). It is expected that the project would assist the two partners to obtain the following specific benefits: to promote power system stability in the countries concerned; to promote energy connectivity among the countries by assisting them to integrate their respective networks and thereby develop ability for building larger power projects to meet larger regional markets; to develop ability to negotiate better terms for procurement of power equipment and technical assistance; to reduce the cost of power in both countries; in the long term, complete integration of the power systems in Egypt and Sudan; and to create productive employment and economic development across the borders. The main objectives of the project include provision of transmission capacity to cater for grid interconnection between Egypt and Sudan, provision of transmission infrastructure to cater for future grid interconnections to other countries, promotion of regional cooperation through sharing of power generation resources and facilitation of rural electrification and improve the standard of living for the population in project areas

The project comprises a dam at the Palambo Rapids on the Oubangui River and an associated hydroelectric plant serving Bangui and neighbouring areas of the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The dam would regulate downstream flows, particularly during the low-water season, while supporting electricity generation and safer, more reliable navigation between Bangui, Brazzaville and Kinshasa. The project is also linked conceptually to the Oubangui-to-Lake-Chad water-transfer initiative.