BARO AND KARADOBI HYDROPOWER PROJECTS

Under the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), and the Eastern Nile Subsidiary Action Programme
(ENSAP) the basin countries have identified development of regional electricity markets as an
important component of their strategy to promote economic development and cooperation in the
region. In 2001, the Eastern Nile Council of Ministers (ENCOM) decided that funding should be
sought for studies on selected projects. Therefore, from Ethiopia , the Baro and Karadobi
Projects have been selected for further study and development.

In light of the shared vision program of the NBI the projects are intended to provide income and
improvements in the region in several areas and create win - win situations for the countries
involved ( Ethiopia , Sudan & Egypt ). In addition to sale and export of electricity, the Baro and
Karadobi projects are expected to provide improvements to the downstream riparian countries
with regards to flooding, siltation, irrigation and water conservation. The projects are therefore
studied as multi- purpose regional projects.

Hence, both projects are foreseen to be developed with the participation of private investors. In
addition to the basic soundness and economic viability of a project, potential investors are
interested in the risk elements. For hydropower projects. these are mainly be centered on the
geology, hydrology and environmental conditions. These areas therefore were given particular
emphasis in the studies.

For the feasibility study of Baro and the pre-feasibility Study of Karadobi multi-purpose
Hydropower Projects, the Government of Ethiopia has received a grant of 40 million Norwegian
Kroner (NOK) from the Government of Norway.

The Baro project is located on the Baro River between Gore and Bonga approximately 600km by
road west of Addis-Ababa (400km air distance). A pre-feasibility study of the project was
conducted by Norplan in association with Norconsult in 1999.

The Karadobi hydropower project is located on the Abbay River ( Blue Nile ). The proposed
dam site is located 1.7km down stream of its confluence with Guder River at about 135km (air
distance) north west of Addis-Ababa. The project was studied at reconnaissance level in the
Abbay River Master Plan Project by BCEOM, in 1998.

The objective of the feasibility study of Baro project is to produce a bankable report that will
analyze and document all-important aspects required for the formal approval of the project by
MoWR and other governmental authorities of Ethiopia . and consideration of priority among
ENSAP project by ENCOM.

The objective of the pre-feasibility study of Karadobi project is to produce a report that will
analyze all important aspects in relation to the project to a preliminary level and indicates
technical, economic, social and environmental viability of the project. It shall serve as basis for
the government of Ethiopia , the government of Norway who pledged the study fund and
ENCOM to decide further action to be taken with respect to the project.
The Ministry of Water Resources had entered an agreement and signed a contract with the
international consultants, Norplan-Norconsult- Lahmeyer (with local associates) on May 10,
2004, to undertake pre-feasibility and feasibility studies of Karadobi and Baro hydropower
projects respectively.

The consultants have commenced the investigation work on June 1, 2004 and by now they have
completed the feasibility study of the Baro and the pre-feasibility studies of the Karadobi Multi-
purpose project and have submitted the Final Study Reports.

According to the present feasibility studies, full development of the Baro scheme (Baro-1, Baro-
2 & Genji Diversion) will have a power generation with an installed capacity of 896 MW.

The present pre-feasibility study of the Karadobi Multi-Purpose Project indicate a rolled concrete
gravity dam of maximum structural height of 260m and length of about 684 m at the crest, with a
corresponding installed capacity of 1600 MW. The reservoir area full level has an area of 445km
2 with a capacity of. 40,200 Mm 3 .

Project Design (Goal, Outcomes, and 0utputs) of the feasibility study of the Baro & Pre-
feasibility study of the Karadobi

The goal of the Project is to:

 Promote regional economic development through provision of more renewable

hydropower energy at a reasonable cost

Outcomes

 To promote regional Co-operation in the power sector and increase power trade via future
interconnected transmission networks in the Eastern Nile countries ( Ethiopia , Sudan &
Egypt )
 To protect the Environment by providing environment friendly energy resources
 • To create a source of foreign currency revenue for Ethiopia .

The output of the Norwegian contribution is a feasibility study report for the Baro hydropower
Project and a pre-feasibility report for the Karadobi hydropower Project.

FEASIBILITY STUDY OF WABE-SHEBELLE (WS18) MULTIPURPOSE PROJECT

Wabe-Shebelle (WS18) Multipurpose Project site is located in the middle of the Wabe-Shebelle
River Basin about 785 km South-East of Addis Ababa and 255 km South-West of Jijiga town.
The access is asphalt road up to Harar (526 km), all weather /gravel/ road from Harer up to Fik
(173 km), dry weather road from Fik to Hamero (50 km) and the rest (36 km) is trail. The
geographical location of the dam site is 42 0 07'00”N and 07 0 27'00”E.

The project has 2238.19 Mm 3 live storage between 580m and 535.41m, and generates energy in
the surface power station. The power system has a rock-fill dam with central core clay, 111 m
high. The surface powerhouse has a size of 120mx31mx39.2m. The system has a steel penstock
of 8m diameter and 420m length connected with 3 Francis turbines with a total installed capacity
of 87.75MW. The power from WS18 project can be evacuated though 1no. Double circuit 230
KV transmission line connected to Bale Robe substation.

The objective of the study is to recommend the optimum utilization of the potential of the WS-
18 Site for the purpose of irrigation development and power generation. 14 potential irrigation
projects have been identified in 1973 by BCEOM study of the lower valley. The total net area of
these projects identified by BCEOM is 92,000ha. As the first priority for the development, Ilo-
Uen /net area =15,000ha/ and Bul-Doho /net area =17,000ha/ will be studied during the current
Multipurpose feasibility study.

FEASIBILITY STUDY OF GENALE (GD-6) HYDROPOWER PROJECT

Genale GD-6 is one of the most attractive hydropower projects identified and studied at pre-
feasibility level in the ongoing Genale-Dawa River Basin Integrated Resources Development
Master Plan Study Project.

The project is located approximately 50 km South-East of Negelle Town. The UTM coordinates
of the dam site are 646650 E / 594090 N. The powerhouse is located in Filtu Wereda, Liben
Zone of the Somali National Regional State, whereas the dam is in the Oromia National Regional
State. The dam site can be accessed from the main Road 44 approximately 1km east of the
village Hayadimtu turning towards North West on an improved trail. After approximately 26km
a steep slop permits the passage only during dry weather. The total length of the track ranges
about 36km from the road to the Genale River. The project design consists of a 39m high RCC
dam, a head-race tunnel of about 18km length and a penstock of 1.1km, connected to the open-
air powerhouse with 3 Francis turbines with a total installed capacity of 257MW and a
generation of 1231GWh p.a.

PREFEASIBILITY STUDY OF BORDER AND MANDAYA HYDROPOWER PROJECTS

Assessment of the Abay River basin by the USBR in 1964 identified four hydropower sites in the
main Abay River course, Karadobi, Mabil, Mandaya and Border . Karadobi is the most
upstream of all the identified sites located some 60 kilometres downstream of the Kessie Bridge .
The Mabil site is located downstream of Karadobi and upstream of Mandaya site. Border is the
most downstream of all the hydropower sites of the Abay river identified within Ethiopia .

Under the Nile Basin Initiative a number of hydropower sites including Border and Mandaya are
proposed to be developed in Ethiopia for the benefit of the Eastern Nile basin countries (Egypt,
Ethiopia and Sudan ). The Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO) hired a consultant,
EDF/SW, to conduct The Eastern Nile Power trade program study. This study includes
feasibility study of interconnection between the Eastern Nile countries and Pre Feasibility studies
of the Border and Mandaya Hydropower sites in Ethiopia and DalI hydropower site in Sudan .
Previous studies conducted on the Border and Mandaya sites were at reconnaissance level. The
pre feasibility studies of the Border and Mandaya hydropower sites are at preliminary stage and a
brief summary of the findings and their characteristics will be presented as follows.

MANDAYA HYDROPOWER SITE

The Mandaya site is the most upstream of the hydropower sites under consideration in the study
of the Eastern Nile power trade program study. The site is only accessible by helicopter as there
appears to be no roads or tracks within 50 km. The topography at the site is well suited for the
development of a major dam. The USBR (1964) reconnaissance study recommended a dam some
150 metres in height (FSL 741 m) with a reservoir extending upstream to the next identified site
at Mabil. Preliminary investigation of the present study shows that the Mandaya site is capable of
accommodating a dam of up to 260 metres in height (FSL 860 m) or thereabouts, obviating the
need for the Mabil project and with the reservoir extending upstream close to the Karadobi site.

The reservoir area and volumes have yet to be established. However, it is clear that the reservoir
will provide a high degree of regulation of inflows and flood mitigation as well as having a
sufficiently large volume to ensure a long period of life prior to significant storage losses due to
sediment deposition.

River flows at Mandaya are approximately 60% greater than Karadobi. As a consequence the
installed capacity of the Mandaya project is preliminarily estimated as some 2400 – 2800 MW
with potential energy generation estimated as some 16,000 to 18,000 GWh/year. A more detailed
study of reservoir modelling will confirm the firm and average energy output and installed
capacity.

From field observations it appear that there are few permanently resident population within the
reservoir area.

The Mandaya project offers high potential for multi-purpose benefits through integrated planning
taking account of potential for flood alleviation and regulation of flows.

The Border site is the most downstream of the hydropower sites under consideration within
Ethiopia . The topography at the site is well suited to development of a dam of moderate height
of some 80 m. The USBR (1964) study recommended a dam some 80 metres in height (FSL 575
m) with a reservoir extending upstream close to the Mandaya site. This development appears
near-optimal for the site since higher levels would appear to require extensive saddle dams to
contain the reservoir. Observations at the site confirm the presence of good foundation rock
which would be suitable for concrete aggregate or rockfill.

There would be some multi-purpose benefits of river regulation and flood alleviation
downstream, associated with the integrated development of the Border reservoir but not to the
same extent as for Mandaya. There is likely to be some loss of flood recession agriculture along
the Nile downstream in Sudan and there would be a substantial reduction in sediment delivered
to Roseires reservoir.
The installed capacity would be of the order of 800 MW and annual energy generation would be
of the order of 7000 – 8000 GWh/yr.

A number of villages are present along the Nile river valley and would need to be resettled to
nearby areas along the reservoir perimeter. The preliminarily estimated population that would be
displaced by reservoir amounts to some 2000 – 5000 people.

DETAIL DESIGN OF KESEM HYDROPOWER PROJECT

Ethiopia has high potential for production of sugar for both internal and export markets. This is
because of its geographical location (just north of the equator), a wide variety of ecological
regions, topography & climate.

The project site is situated at about 220 Km from Addis Ababa along the Addis Ababa-Mille
Road . Geographically the area is located 39° 54' E and 09° 09' N.

With the objective of raising sugar production, agreement has been signed in August 2004
between the Ministry of Water Resources and the Water Works Design and Supervision
Enterprise (Consultant) to prepare a detail design of Kesem irrigation project. The agreement
was meant for the development of sugarcane in the kesem and bolhamo areas. Most of the design
works are now completed and construction activities are started.

The study proposes a rock fill dam with reservoir capacity of 500 MCM located upstream of
existing Awara Melka weir for regulation. A weir about 10 kms downstream of the dam was
proposed for diverting the regulated water to irrigate the left and right banks of the Kesem River.

In order to make the kesem Irrigation project more attractive, the Ministry of Water Resources
suggested incorporating the development of hydropower plant in the system to utilize the
flowing water to the irrigation field. The hydropower potential is dictated by downstream
irrigation requirement. The layout of the project will allow producing 10 to 15MW of power with
only additional cost of electromechanical equipments. The plant would have to operate over a
wide range of head and discharge. The capacity will be even more with the current pattern of
irrigation demand.