Nyamagasani 1: A 15 MW run-of-river hydropower plant in Uganda

In the context of already close cooperation, FMO and PROPARCO have set up a new type of guarantee to reduce the risk exposure of the lead institution: risk subparticipation. In this case, PROPARCO’s client is consequently FMO, our Dutch counterpart. The advantage for the final beneficiary (RWENZORI HYDRO LTD) is that it has a single lender at the funding round. The project is majority owned by Frontier Energy II Alpha + Beta K/S (DK), a Danish Private Equity Fund which is developing a portfolio of renewable projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and in which PROPARCO is a shareholder.

The financing of the Nyamagasani 1 project provides for the construction and operation of a 15 MW run-of-river hydropower plant in Western Uganda.

100% of the electricity generated by this project will be purchased by UETCL, Uganda’s electricity generator and distributor, at a price of 8.5 USDc/kWh, under a 20-year power purchasing agreement.

This project has been structured in the context of the Ugandan GetFit program. The total project cost stands at USD 25.5m, with 30% financed by equity and 70% by debt (totally provided by FMO, with a PROPARCO risk subparticipation covering 40% of this debt).

Nyamagasani 1 will raise the generation capacity of Uganda’s power system.

The power plant will generate an average of 62.7 GWh of low-carbon electricity a year throughout the project life cycle. The tariff of this power plant is more competitive than most of the other power generation projects in operation in the country. Nyamagasani 1 will theoretically provide access to electricity to some 690,000 people.

Furthermore, the power plant will create or maintain over 18,500 jobs in Uganda’s economy and will contribute EUR 52m to national GDP over the project life cycle.

The project will avoid the emission of 29,000 teq CO2 a year.