The Ugandan Parliament has recommended the establishment of an independent technical evaluation team for Isimba Hydropower Project to ascertain its integrity in light of the shutdown last year Following which resulted in country-wide blackouts.
In August 2022, the dam was flooded necessitating an emergency shutdown to protect the equipment and the Powerhouse facility, and save the lives of the staff on site.
The $567.7 million Isimba Hydropower Plant was constructed by China International Water and Electricity Corporation for $567.7 million. Construction commenced in 2015 and was commissioned in 2019 with an installed generation capacity of 183.2MW.
Following the debate on the matter in the Ugandan Parliament, the presiding officer referred the matter to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources for further investigation.
The Committee Chairperson Dr. Emmanuel Otaala said in his report said that there is need to put in place an independent technical evaluation team for Isimba Hydro Power Project to ascertain the Integrity of the project before the facility is fully handed over to the Government of Uganda since it defects.
Otaala said that to date, the exact cause of the flooding of the Powerhouse has not been established and investigations are still ongoing.
“However, it is generally believed that it was caused by the use of a new construction method that could have triggered the malfunctioning of the sluice gates,” he said.