African ministers responsible for energy from nine countries bordering the Nile will meet in Tanzania this week to review how to economically benefit from the waters that has been a source of conflict in the region.
A statement from the United-Nations-backed Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) said the ministers responsible for electricity will discuss enhanced cooperation towards regional power trade.
"The ministers responsible for electricity in the Nile Basin countries will meet on Thursday in Dar es Salaam to review the Regional Power Trade Project (RPTP), one of the thematic projects under the Shared Vision Program of the NBI," the statement said.
The meeting whose theme is "Enhancing Cooperation towards Regional Power Trade," will deliberate on progress made by RPTP since it was launched in 2003 by the ministers responsible for electricity affairs.
They will also receive and review the studies recommendations, and adopt a strategy of operationalizing these recommendations.
The statement said the ministers will also provide input to RPTP Phase II proposal as well as agree on its implementation and on future sustainability of the RPTP outputs and functions of Phase I and II in view of the different power development and power trade initiatives.
The ministers' conference is timely as it is taking place when there is increased recognition, awareness and support of the regional approach to the Power sector development as evidenced by the number of regional interconnection projects underway.
These include Ethiopia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Interconnectionring around Lake Victoria, Rusumo HEP, and the interconnections among the countries in the equatorial lakes region.
The four year Regional Power Trade Project is funded through the Nile Basin Trust Fund to the tune of 13.1 million U.S. dollars.
The Fund is managed by the World Bank through contributions from the Governments of Norway and Sweden and in-kind contributions of 0.88 million dollars from the governments of the nine cooperating states of the Nile Basin Countries.
The project will contribute to regional energy integration which will play a key role in poverty reduction.
Access to electricity will also reduce the negative impacts of inadequate modern energy access, especially for women, who bear a disproportionately high burden.
Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, (Eritrea is an Observer), to Achieve sustainable socio-economic development through equitable utilization of and the benefits from the common Nile Basin water resources.
Source:Xinhua
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