Sudan Development Program - New dam to power Sudan from next year

New dam to power Sudan from next year (15/08/07) Sudan's Merowe Dam will start generating power next year, and will eventually increase the vast African nation's electricity supply by 150 percent, officials said.

		"In our aspiration to solve Sudan's problems, we realized that one of the biggest problems we faced was power," Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said after touring the site. After signing a peace deal with southern rebels in 2005 the government has more cash for development and has encouraged local and foreign investors to set up shop. Khartoum has received most of the investment but even the rich capital faces electricity problems, especially in the hot summers. Few towns outside the capital enjoy regular power supplies.
"Many industries in Khartoum, Port Sudan and the major industrial areas virtually came to a standstill because of intermittent power supply," said Bashir. "Besides, the amount of power currently being generated meets only a fraction of the requirements of the Sudanese people," he added. Immediate beneficiaries will include farmers in northern Sudan who use diesel-fuelled pumps to irrigate their crops, according to Ahmed. Once completed, the $2 billion dam project that employs some 5,000 people, half of them foreigners, is expected to produce 1,250 megawatts of electricity. Source: Sudanese Online

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