Article

The Government of Uganda is reviving the construction of Bujagali dam, which up to now has been mired in controversies. The controversies, among others, include corruption, over–pricing of both the dam and electricity to be generated, questionable technical design, engineered hydrological data, inappropriate environmental impact assessment and lack of transparency and accountability. The National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) and other Civil Society organizations have, on several occasions, articulated these controversies. However, the project is being revived. This i

Bujagali Project Torpedoes Options Assessment for Uganda Local and international groups have been lobbying for a full and fair review of the various energy options available to Uganda ever since the Bujagali Dam site was first granted to the US–based AES Corporation in the mid–1990s. However, extensive efforts by NGOs to promote further analysis of energy alternatives have for years fallen on deaf ears at the World Bank Group, the project’s main backer. In fact, the Bank has actually subverted efforts to analyze non–hydropower options: it manipulated data to justify Bujagali as the "le

World Bank’s Unflagging Favoritism for Overpriced Bujagali Project Has Helped Put the Brakes on Uganda’s Energy Development. Today, the US–based energy giant AES Corp. filed a quarterly report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission announcing their decision to "discontinue the construction and development of AES Nile Power in Uganda (Bujagali)." The proposed $530 million dam on the Nile River has been marred by controversy since the troubled Virginia–based AES was first awarded the right to develop the Bujagali Falls site in the 1990s. The controversy was fueled not only

Review of Project Contract Reveals that Ugandans Will Bear the Excessive Costs of World Bank-supported Bujagali Dam This study reveals that Ugandans will pay hundreds of millions of dollars in excessive power payments if the World Bank-financed Bujagali Dam proceeds according to plan. The study, released today by International Rivers, demonstrates that the agreement between the dam’s private developer and the Government of Uganda falls short of international standards. As a result, Uganda will be faced with $20-40 million in excessive payments each year if the dam moves forward. "This projec

Some Notes and Recommendations by International Rivers Network, June 20, 2002 The World Bank Board of Directors discussed the first Inspection Panel Report on the Bujagali Hydropower Project in Uganda, and Management’s Response to this report, on June 17, 2002. The Board accepted the Action Plan which Management had put forward. On the same day, the Bank released the Report and the Management Response to the public (see worldbank.org). A review of the Panel Report by International Rivers is also available. At the core of the Management Response is an Action Plan which consis

Compartir la Riqueza del Agua por Patrick McCully Miles de políticos, burócratas a cargo del agua, profesionales del cabildeo corporativo, y activistas de ONGs están convergiendo en la Ciudad de México para el 16 de marzo, cuando se iniciará el cuarto Foro Mundial del Agua. Este magno evento pretende abordar un tema que quizá sea el problema más apremiante del mundo: cómo asegurar que toda persona tenga acceso a suficiente agua limpia para vivir dignamente, a la vez que se asegure suficiente suministro de agua para regar los cultivos y mantener los ecosistemas de agua dulce. La

The World Bank today approved a large dam in Uganda that could prove to be a white elephant for that nation’s citizens, while enriching the US–based AES Corp., the largest independent power producer in the world. Key criticisms of the project by NGOs include: The dam is a bad economic deal for Uganda. It will not bring electricity to the majority of Ugandans (95% of whom are not connected to the national grid, and most of whom could not currently afford grid power), and will drive up tariffs for those already connected to the grid; Alternative sources of electricity

Submitted to the World Bank July 17, 2001 by International Rivers Leaked details of the secret 30–year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for Bujagali Dam appear to confirm concerns that the project will result in major price hikes to Ugandan consumers thus hindering efforts to increase the extremely low levels of access to electricity in Uganda and harming the country’s economy. Given the major concerns over the terms of PPAs for other private sector power projects such as Enron’s Dabhol project in India, the San Roque Dam in the Philippines, and various coal–fired power plants in Indon

"Future economic prosperity and sustainable water resource management in Uganda will not lie in huge dams. The way forward is the wise use of river–based environmental goods and services; not their extinction through the pursuit of hydropower lunacy." – National Association of Professional Environmentalists (Uganda). Uganda is one of the world's poorest countries, with a per capita GNP of just US$190 and a position of 163 out of 191 countries in UNDP's Human Development Index. Approximately 95% of the population does not have access to electricity, and most could no