Multinational – Feasibility Study for the Nsongezi Hydropower Plant (AFDB-P-Z1-FAB-041)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Tanzania
  • Uganda
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Nsongezi
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
U
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
Aug 14, 2025
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.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Hydropower
  • Technical Cooperation
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Advisory Services
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 1.06 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.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ AFDB website

Updated in EWS Feb 1, 2026

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

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 study aims to evaluate the feasibility and viability of a hydropower generation and transmission project at the Nsongezi hydro site. It includes technical, economic, and financial assessments; preparation of detailed designs and tender documents; and comprehensive environmental and social studies such as an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), and Stakeholder Engagement Plan. The study will conduct a gender analysis to develop a gender action plan and compile a Project Information Memorandum (PIM) to support project implementation and investment.

The project site is located downstream of the recently completed 87MW Rusumo HPP and Kikagati/Murongo 14MW HP project between Tanzania and Uganda lead by TANESCO and UETCL respectively. The Nsongezi River hydropower generation and associated transmission project is part of the Lake Victoria ring and part of Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania Power System Development Master Plans for several years now. The project is envisaged to contribute to increased generation and transmission capacity. The project’s transmission infrastructure will integrate with the Uganda-Tanzania interconnector through the Masaka- Mwanza power interconnector and with the Rwanda-Uganda power interconnector through the EDCL, UETCL and TANESCO networks.

The East African Community (EAC), an intergovernmental organization comprising of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, DRC, and Somalia, will be the implementing agency.

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 World Benchmarking Alliance's website, Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) is a fully state-owned company headquartered in Tanzania. In 2021 its revenue was USD 0.99 billion. TANESCO was formed in 1975 when Tanzania’s two electric utilities were nationalised and merged. The company generates, transmits, distributes and supplies electricity to mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.

As stated by Devex, the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) was incorporated as a limited company on the 26th March 2001 in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act as amended and the Public Enterprise Reform and Divestiture Act. UETCL’s  existence is  provided for in the Electricity Act Cap 145 that provided for un-bundling the vertically integrated Uganda Electricity Board (UEB)  into  successor Companies and establishment of the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA).

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) Contractor Energy contracts with Tanzania Electric Supply Company Ltd. (TANESCO) 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:

Jeffrey Max-Orel Jesugnon Kouton
Email: j.kouton@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