On Aug. 12, 2013, a commencement ceremony was held at the project site for the construction of Karuma Hydropower Station in Uganda. Participants at the ceremony included: Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda, heads of the Uganda Government, Chinese Commercial Counselor in Uganda, the representatives from Chinese-funded agencies, and the delegations of SINOHYDRO and HYDROCHINA HUADONG. The HYDROCHINA HUADONG delegation headed by Mr. Duan Xiaoping, vice president of HYDROCHINA HUADONG, attended the celebration.

As a landlocked country in East Africa, Uganda is also known as “Pearl of Africa”. As the largest hydroelectric project in Uganda as well as the largest overseas EPC project undertaken by SINOHYDRO at present, Karuma Hydropower Projecthas drawn the attention of the whole Uganda people. The project, located in the northwest of Uganda, 270km from the capital Kampala, adopts diversion-type development. The complex is composed of concrete gate dam, water conveyance system, and underground powerhouse, etc. The powerhouse is equipped with six 100MW water-turbine generator units with a total installed capacity of 600MW and a mean annual energy yield of about 4.3 billion kW.h. The project is EPC-based contracted by SINOHYDRO, and HYDROCHINA HUADONG undertakes engineering design. The first unit is scheduled to be put into operation 57 months after signing of the contract.

The construction of the 600MW Karuma Hydropower Project was inaugurated by President Yoweri Museveni. Mr. Duan Xiaoping, vice president of HYDROCHINA HUADONG, reported the project situation in detail to the President. Then, a grand opening ceremony was held at the campus of a primary school near the construction site. Uganda‘s President, the Minister of Energy Ministry of Uganda, and Zeng Xingliang, deputy general manager of SINOHYDRO, made speeches respectively at the ceremony. After the ceremony, Mr. Duan Xiaoping accepted the exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency in Uganda, in which he made a brief introduction about SINOHYDRO, HYDROCHINA, and HYDROCHINA HUADONG, and expressed the Chinese side’s confidence and determination to construct the project.