Vidullanka commissions second hydropower project in Uganda

• Launches 6.5MW Bukinda Small Hydropower Project
• Showcases firm’s project management capabilities, commissioning power plant during COVID outbreak
• Already present in Uganda with Muvumbe Small Hydropower Project commissioned in 2017
• Has 20-year power purchase agreement with Ugandan Electricity Transmission Company Limited

Vidullanka PLC, a forerunner in the Sri Lankan renewable energy industry, has taken its second gigantic leap in Africa by commissioning the 6.5MW Bukinda Small Hydropower Project in Uganda. 

Vidullanka PLC CEO Riyaz Sangani said, “The plant will help generate clean electricity, ushering in a new era of socio-economic potential and development in remote areas. Vidullanka is pleased to commission its second hydropower project in Uganda and will continue to develop clean and sustainable electricity in Africa. We are also glad to be part of this new hydropower project that will facilitate access to electricity in remote areas.”

A feature that makes this milestone more gigantic is the way the project management activities were carried out amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Due to the global travel restrictions, the core engineering team stationed in Uganda carried out the tasks using remote monitoring technologies and other communication media while partnering with the management team in Sri Lanka and its suppliers dispersed worldwide. 

The truly excellent project management capabilities of Vidullanka ensured that all project activities were successfully concluded in a smooth and fluid manner, throughout the hullabaloo of the global pandemic.  

The Bukinda Small Hydropower Project is the company’s second overseas project whilst the first was the Muvumbe Small Hydropower Project, which was commissioned in 2017. 
Vidullanka PLC had entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement with Ugandan Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL), at a pre-defined tariff. 

The new project is commissioned under Timex Bukinda Hydro (U) Limited, which is a company incorporated in Uganda. This is a 100 percent-owned subsidiary of Vidullanka PLC.
This newest addition to Vidullanka’s energy portfolio will increase the total plant capacity owned by the company to 36.25MW, with a cumulative clean energy exceeding 100GWh annually to the national grids of Sri Lanka and Africa.