Ethiopia plans to generate at least 17,000 megawatts (MW) of energy in the next 10 years, an official said on Monday.
Moges Mekonen, communication director at Ethiopia Electric Power (EEP), told Xinhua that Ethiopia plans to achieve the ambitious energy generation plan through investments in hydro, wind, solar and geothermal projects.
“We estimate there will be a need to construct around 71 energy projects to meet the energy generation plans,” he said.
“We also estimate up to 40 billion U.S. dollars is needed to meet the ambitious energy generation plan,” Mekonen further said.
Mekonen said the Ethiopian government encourages private energy developers to engage in public-private partnerships (PPP) to help achieve the country’s energy generation targets.
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Recently, Ethiopia ratified a proclamation on PPP to encourage private investment in the energy sector, one of the country’s priorities in becoming a light manufacturing hub in Africa and a middle-income economy by 2025.
The East African country’s installed electricity generation capacity is now at 4,200 MW.
