By Groum Abate

A collapse in a tunnel has forced the closure of Ethiopia’s largest hydropower plant, Gilgel Gibe II, one week after it was inaugurated. Engineers have estimated that the repairs will take two months and cost 356 million birr. As a result, large factories have been asked to halve their power consumption.

A week after it was officially inaugurated, the largest hydropower station in Ethiopia’s history, Gilgel Gibe II (GG II) has suffered a collapse of a section of a tunnel.

Minister of Mines and Energy Alemayehu Tegenu said that the plant halted operations on Sunday, January 24 after signs of a drop in pressure were observed. He said that the problem occurred some nine kilometres from the outlet of the tunnel and that 15 metres has collapsed.

Semegnew Bekele (Eng), GG II Project Manager, said the problem is easy to solve and could be fixed in a very short time.

The reconstruction work is expected to cost a maximum of 18 million Euros, (365 million birr) and take two months, according to engineers’ estimates. Reinforcement work is also expected to be done to strengthen other sections of the tunnel.

Engineers added that they think the costs of the repair work will be covered by the contractor, as it is liable for repair work for one year after completion of the project. The contractor for GG II was Italian firm, Salini Costruttori, which also constructed Gilgel Gibe I.

Factories that consume large amounts of electric power have been ordered by the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) to reduce their consumption by 50 per cent as a result of the incident.

Following Tekeze Hydropower Plant’s launch, the opening of GG II was the second of three major hydropower projects that were expected to come online this fiscal year.

GG II, which was constructed 250km south west of Addis Ababa for over 5.2 billion birr, can generate 420 megawatts of electricity from its four turbines. It was predicted that it was going to increase electric power supply by 38 per cent.

The Italian Government and the European Investment Bank paid for 52 per cent of the total cost, while the Ethiopian Government covered the balance.

GG II was supposed to solve the country’s power shortage and was also expected to export power to neighbouring countries.

Mihiret Debebe, CEO of EEPCo, said that the corporation is doing its best to solve the power shortage and is going to rapidly complete Beles Hydropower Project, which is expected to generate 460 mw when it starts operation in the next couple of weeks.

GG II, an extension of the Gilgel Gibe I (GG I) hydropower project, does not have a dam. Instead, it uses the water discharged by the GG I, channeled through a 26 km tunnel under Fofa mountain, to Omo River Valley where it takes advantage of a 1.2 km drop to generate 420 mw.

Construction of GG II was launched in 2005.

Also underway is the Gibe III hydropower project, which, when operational, will double the country’s power capacity by generating 1,870 mw. The project launched in March 2008 is expected to cost around 20 billion birr. The same Italian firm has so far completed about 35 percent of the civil works of the project at a slow pace due to financing problems.

Source: CapitalEthiopia