On June 18, 2026, under scorching sun on the East African plateau, engineers were unfolding a yellowed map of the transmission tower in the town of Wabulenzi, Uganda. This long-awaited 400 kV cross-border line finally entered the countdown to construction after receiving $1.6 billion in financing from the World Bank. As a key link in the East African regional power interconnection, it will connect Uganda's surplus hydropower with Tanzania's power grid, bringing the dream of regional electricity trading from afar into reality.

World Bank funds launch interconnection project

The World Bank Board of Directors approved a $1.6 billion financing plan on June 18, 2026, with the first phase focusing on the Uganda Tanzania 400 kV line. The project includes a 260 kilometer dual circuit line in Uganda (165 kilometers from Wobrunzi to Masaka and 92 kilometers from Masaka to the border), as well as the construction and expansion of substations, and the simultaneous construction of the East African power pool trading system. The goal is to achieve 452 gigawatt hours of cross-border transactions annually by 2031.

Water and electricity surplus stimulates external transmission channels

Uganda's installed capacity will reach 2048 megawatts by the end of 2024, with 82% being hydroelectric power. The lagging growth rate of domestic consumption has resulted in a significant surplus. After the completion of the line, the "idle hydropower" will be transformed into tradable goods, easing the power supply pressure in Tanzania and promoting the annual cross-border trading volume of the East African power pool to exceed 5000 gigawatt hours, rewriting the regional power fragmentation pattern. Keywords: New energy news and information, power grid interconnection

Chinese Engineering Competition System Market

Chinese power companies welcome new opportunities: equipment suppliers can enter the procurement chain of 400 kV iron towers and transformers; Engineering companies bidding for line construction and substation construction; System integrators layout and dispatch automation, trading platforms, and other system side businesses. Relying on African power transmission and transformation performance experience, Chinese projects are extending from hardware contracting to regional power market services, and deepening the Middle East energy infrastructure the Belt and Road.Editor/Gao Xue