Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) on Monday has signed two energy deals with Chinese companies – a $113 million contract with Voith Haydo Shanghai and a $40.1 million contract with CGGC.
Both companies will be working on the under-construction Ethiopia’s Great Renaissance Dam (GERD). EEP’s deal with Voith Haydo Shanghai involves electrical, mechanical, and various civil / structural works required to complete the construction of the generating station and spillways of GERD.
CEO of Ethiopian Electric Power, Dr Engineer Abrham Belay and Executive Vice President of Voith Hydro Shanghai, Tang Xu, have signed the deal on Monday, according to the official facebook page of EEP. The deal is expected to step up the construction of the dam by filling the previous gaps occurred in the execution of the project.
Last month EEP and Voith Haydo Shanghai have also signed for the installation and commissioning of six turbine generators at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) with close to $78 million dollars.
On same day, EEP has also signed a $40.1 million contract agreement with another Chinese company, CGGC. The deal aims to execute the pre-commissioning activities of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) at a cost of 40.1 million US dollars.
The main construction of GERD has been done by the Italian company Salini Impregilo, which also have done several hydropower projects in Ethiopia.
After poor performance that of METEC for the past few years, the completion of GERD has delayed costing the government more than initially anticipated. latest report shows that so far close to 98 billion birr (about $3.5 billion) has been invested in the construction of GERD, which by now could have started power generation. The dam is now expected to be completed after four years.