African Development Bank Group Approves €7.33 Million To Complete Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project (UREAP Phase I)

The African Development Bank Group has approved additional financing of €7.33 million to support the completion of compensation payments and remaining works under the Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project (UREAP) – Phase I. This funding is intended to close important financial gaps that emerged during implementation and ensure that all project-affected persons receive their due compensation. The support will also help complete outstanding activities related to environmental and social commitments, ensuring the project delivers its intended development outcomes in full.

The approval was made on 07 April and is aimed at strengthening the overall impact of the project by addressing revised cost estimates and pending obligations identified during execution. The UREAP Phase I project, approved in 2015, has played a major role in expanding electricity access in rural and peri-urban areas of Uganda. It has connected households, businesses, and public institutions to the national grid, significantly improving energy access in underserved regions. So far, the project has delivered last-mile electricity connections to 137,770 households, benefiting approximately 670,000 people across the country.

According to Aleymahu Wubeshet-Zegeye, East Africa Regional Manager for Energy at the African Development Bank, the additional financing ensures that no community is left behind. It enables the completion of remaining activities, fulfills commitments made to affected families, and helps secure long-term development benefits for communities that were part of the project. In addition to the Phase I completion funding, the Bank Group also approved the second phase of the project, UREAP II, on the same date. This phase is designed to significantly expand electricity access across Uganda.

The total cost of UREAP II is €104.39 million, which will be financed through multiple sources, including an African Development Bank loan of €86.58 million, a combined €14.65 million in loans and grants from the Climate Investment Funds, and €3.16 million in counterpart funding from the Government of Uganda.

UREAP II will focus on large-scale expansion of electricity infrastructure. It includes the construction of approximately 624 kilometres of medium-voltage lines and 2,154 kilometres of low-voltage distribution networks. Over a six-year implementation period, the project is expected to deliver around 259,723 new electricity connections through both grid and mini-grid systems.

These connections will benefit more than 250,000 households, around 3,000 businesses, as well as public institutions such as schools and healthcare centres. When combined with Phase I achievements of about 141,700 connections, the project will provide first-time electricity access to nearly 1.18 million people.

This expansion is also expected to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and traditional biomass, contributing to cleaner and more sustainable energy use in rural areas. The Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project is a key initiative under the African Development Bank Group’s Country Strategy Paper for Uganda (2022–2026). It also supports Mission 300, a joint programme with the World Bank Group aimed at providing electricity access to 300 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.