Uganda - Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project I - Additional Financing (UREAP-I AF) (AFDB-P-UG-FA0-020)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Uganda
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Nakasongola, Luweero, Alebtong, Amuria, Soroti, Mbale, Manafwa, Serere, Ngora, Bukedea, and others
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • African Development Bank (AFDB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Apr 7, 2026
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Uganda
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Infrastructure
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 8.57 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 7.33
Converted using 2026-04-07 exchange rate.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 8.57 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 121.41 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Other Related Projects
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ AFDB website

Updated in EWS Jul 14, 2026

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the AfDB, the objective of the project under the additional financing remains to provide reliable and affordable electricity to rural households and public infrastructure services in Uganda. More broadly, the original project seeks to improve access to electricity for households, commercial centres, businesses, schools, health facilities and public service offices in rural areas, thereby supporting socio-economic development and improved living standards.

The Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project I – Additional Financing (UREAP-I AF) is an additional financing operation for the ongoing Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project. The original project supports rural electrification through the construction of medium- and low-voltage distribution networks, last-mile connections for households, commercial centres and public institutions, and technical assistance to strengthen the sector. The additional financing does not expand the original project scope; rather, it is intended to close a financing gap related to the implementation of the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) and the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), in particular the compensation of project-affected persons. The additional financing amounts to EUR 7.33 million in the form of an African Development Bank sovereign loan. The original project cost was estimated at USD 121.41 million, financed by USD 100 million from the African Development Bank and an EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund grant of EUR 11.205 million, alongside Government counterpart funding.

The project beneficiaries remain those of the original UREAP-I operation and are located across 16 districts of Uganda: Nakasongola, Luweero, Alebtong, Amuria, Soroti, Mbale, Manafwa, Serere, Ngora, Bukedea, Kaliro, Luuka, Buyende, Iganga, Gulu and Nwoya, as well as Bugala Island in Kalangala District. The main beneficiaries include rural households, commercial centres, business enterprises, and public institutions such as schools, health centres and administrative offices. The original project targeted connections for 58,206 rural households, 5,320 trading centres, and 1,474 public institutions, as well as additional last-mile connections for 99,077 new customers near the existing grid in already electrified rural areas. Under the additional financing, the immediate beneficiaries are also the project-affected persons (PAPs) who will receive pending compensation payments under the RAP, allowing the project to meet its environmental and social obligations and safeguard livelihoods.

The implementing agency is Bujagali Energy Ltd..

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated on the company's website, Bujagali Energy Limited is a leading power producer, delivering affordable and clean energy in Uganda through the Bujagali Hydro Power Plant located near Lake Victoria, on the Victoria Nile.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Bujagali Energy Ltd. Contractor Energy

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

AfDB Team leader:

Girma Mekuria Abyehoy
Email: g.abiyehoy@afdb.org 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/request-for-documents. Under the AfDBÕs Disclosure and Access to Information policy, if you feel the Bank has omitted to publish information or your request for information is unreasonably denied, you can file an appeal at https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/appeals-process.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/

How it works

How it works