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The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) has called for a government guideline requiring at least 30% of the value of contracts to be reserved for local contractors to be applied in the oil industry. Acting PPDA executive director Benson Turamye told the Daily Monitor that the guideline already applied to procurement by government ministries, departments and agencies, but procurement tenders in the oil industry were not necessarily subjected to the same rules.

Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) has invited expressions of interest (EoIs) from consultants to carry out a feasibility study for construction of a gas pipeline from Dar es Salaam to Uganda via Tanga, Mwanza and Kagera. The contract is expected to cover a market survey along the proposed pipeline route to establish current and future natural gas demand by identifying potential customers.

The Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium has given consortium member Saipem a contract for front-end engineering design work for the planned 60,000 b/d refinery at Hoima. The award follows the signing of a project framework agreement with the government in April. The consortium is made up of Saipem, Italian-based GE subsidiary Nuovo Pignone International, and two Mauritius-based companies, LionWorks Group and Yaatra Africa.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development is set to launch bidding in August for consulting services for its Wind Resource Map and Pilot Wind Power Development Programme. The programme, to be financed with a project preparation grant from the Strategic Climate Fund, through the African Development Bank, is one of the projects under the country’s Scaling Up Renewable Energy Programme.

The 5.4MW Lubilia Kawembe hydropower project in the Rwenzori Mountains of western Uganda was formally commissioned on 28 June. The project was developed under the global energy transfer feed-in tariff (Get FiT) facility, a dedicated support scheme for renewable energy projects managed by German development bank KfW in partnership with the government through the Electricity Regulatory Agency. The project is funded by the European Union Infrastructure Trust Fund and supported by the governments of Norway, Germany and the UK.

Off-grid renewable energy and communications company Winch Energy and Mauritius-based internet service provider iWayAfrica on 11 June announced a partnership to launch the Winch Hub in Uganda. The project will use 20-feet-long containerised solar kiosks, called Winch Hubs, with an integrated very small aperture terminal (VSAT) – a satellite communications system – to provide energy services and broadband connectivity. “Around 80% of Uganda is unserved by reliable means of electricity, with around 65% of the population remaining without access to the internet,” Winch director Tom Wrigley said.

Uganda’s 183MW Isimba and 600MW Karuma dams are set for commissioning in October and December respectively, according to Uganda Electricity Generation Company chief executive Harrison Mutikanga, who visited the project sites in early June.He said repairs were under way at Isimba following an inspection by an independent panel of experts on dam safety, which highlighted inadequate instrumentation and cracking of the concrete structure.

The Rural Electrification Agency is to invite expressions of interest from consultants and contractors to assist with the Decentralised Renewables Development Programme, which aims to develop an off-grid electrification master plan for the islands on Lake Victoria and pilot net-metering using grid-tie solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The programme, one of the projects under the country’s Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Programme, is being supported by the African Development Bank, which has provided a project preparation grant from the Strategic Climate Fund.

The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and the Ugandan Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 11 May for cooperation on nuclear energy. The MoU was signed in Beijing by CNNC chairman Wang Shoujun and Ugandan minister of energy and mineral development Irene Muloni. A ministry statement said the parties would give priority to cooperation in applying nuclear technology in medicine, agriculture and industry. The government signed a similar MoU with Russia’s Rosatom in June 2017.

The government signed a project framework agreement with the Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium (AGRC) on 10 April for a 60,000 b/d refinery in Kabaale, Hoima district. The consortium consists of Italian-based GE subsidiary Nuovo Pignone International, Eni subsidiary Saipem and two Mauritius-registered companies, Yaatra Africa and LionWorks Group Ltd.

Uganda is close to signing a formal development agreement for a long-mooted 60,000 b/d refinery in Hoima district. Sources close to the talks told African Energy that an agreeement had been initialled and signing was expected within days. Ugandan officials spent more than three years negotiating with a Russian consortium led by RT Global Resources before talks collapsed in June 2016 and reserve bidder SK Engineering & Construction indicated that it was no longer interested in the project.

Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL) has appointed France’s Artelia in association with KKATT Consult Uganda Limited as the new owner’s engineer for the 183MW Isimba hydropower project. UEGCL has been acting as interim owner’s engineer at Isimba since September 2017, when the contract held by India’s Energy Infratech expired.A rift between UEGCL and the Ministry of Energy resulted in tension between Energy Infratech and the main contractors over Isimba and the 600MW Karuma project, which is being developed at the same time.

Uganda expects to complete front-end engineering design (Feed) work on the oil export pipeline to Tanzania’s Tanga port in the next couple of weeks and take a final investment decision (FID) by year-end or early next year, ready for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) tender process next year. Acting permanent secretary at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development Robert Kasande told African Energy that Feed for the upstream projects would take a little longer but the ministry was still aiming for FID by year-end and EPC next year.

SolarNow announced on 18 October that it has agreed a $6m syndicated loan facility arranged by Washington DC-based SunFunder for its special purpose vehicle Safi, which stands for structured asset finance instruments. Safi provides finance for SolarNow’s residential customers, allowing them to purchase pay-as-you-go or lease off-grid solar home systems. SunFunder was also facility agent and a lender, alongside Zurich-based asset manager responsAbility Investments AG and Utrecht-headquartered social investor Oikocredit, each of whom provided $2m.

France’s Engie has agreed to buy Uganda-based pay-as-you-go solar provider Fenix International. Fenix chief executive Lyndsay Handler told African Energy Fenix would retain its identity but the partnership would offer economies of scale that would significantly reduce the cost of equipment and financing. She said solar home systems (SHS) were a very working capital-intensive business and companies like Fenix and M-Kopa paid high interest rates for their debt. Combining the two companies’ purchasing power for solar equipment would cut costs.