Hydropower

Cooperation and hydro-diplomacy in Africa will be at the top of AWF agenda during the 2013 edition of the Stockholm World Water Week. 
As part of the Africa Focus Day programme, the AWF will be bringing together a group of international water experts specialising in the management of water resources for a discussion on possible solutions for more effective pragmatic sharing of transboundary water resources on the African continent.

Maputo, Mozambique, – The AWF announced on December 15 that is has offered a €3.4 million grant to the Government of Mozambique to conduct a feasibility study for the development of a climate adaptation project in the lower Limpopo region. This project will include building infrastructure to protect the Limpopo basin from floods and droughts and will increase food security by boosting agricultural production. Furthermore, the infrastructure to be built could lead to hydro-electric power production for the region.

The African Water Facility (AWF) announced on January 9, 2015 that it has offered a €1.97 million grant to the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP) to increase water availability for multiple purposes in the Nyimur region of Uganda and South Sudan. The grant will support the improvement of irrigated agriculture and food production, fisheries, electricity generation and sanitation as well as the prevention of flooding and droughts in the region.

The African Water Facility (AWF) has approved a grant of EUR 1.28 million to finance feasibility studies for a multi-purpose dam on a tributary of River Lusushwana in Swaziland. The project will provide drinking water to urban areas, including Mbabane and Manzini, the two major cities of the country. The water stored by the dam will also be used for irrigation and hydro-power generation. The multipurpose dam project is a priority investment for the Swazi Government. The 300.000 inhabitants in the area will benefit from this investment.

“This drought is worse than the one which occurred in 1992!”  says Zwelakhe who leaves in Mbabane, the Capital City of Swaziland. “Now we are faced with water restrictions: we are only supplied every other day and we are still supposed to be in the rainy season!”. The Hawane Dam which supplies Mbabane is nearly empty. The Mbabane-Manzini urban corridor is the main pole of growth of the country, and concentrates a number of developments: the convention center, a new industrial zone, and several housing estates.

Tanzania is expected to benefit from a boost in hydropower generation and irrigation development thanks to a new study financed by the African Water Facility (AWF). This EUR 2-million grant will help the government of Tanzania launch the pre-feasibility study of a multipurpose dam, irrigation and hydropower project in Kikonge (South West).