The Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Environment has issued an urgent call for the rehabilitation of the Isimba Hydro Electric Power Dam.
This follows a meeting with all key stakeholders involved in the dam’s construction, including the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL), the contractor China International Water and Electricity Corporation, and officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.
The call for immediate action comes after a fact-finding mission by the committee to the dam on January 15, 2025 during the inspection, it was discovered that the dam, which was designed to last 100 years, has developed significant defects and cracks at both the embankment and the spillway.
The dam, with a projected output of 183 MW, was completed at a cost of 567 million dollars.
Despite its projected lifespan of a century, these defects raise serious concerns about the dam’s long-term structural integrity and its ability to operate effectively after being commissioned in 2019.
Committee Chairperson, Herbert Ariko, has urged the Ministry of Energy to mobilize the necessary resources and manpower to ensure the rehabilitation is completed before the dam faces a potential shutdown, which could lead to significant financial losses for the Government.
By Francis Lubega
19 February 2025
END
