The African Development Bank Group has approved €7.33 million in additional financing to support the completion of compensation payments to people impacted by the Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project (UREAP) - Phase I.
The funding will close a critical gap for the compensation of project-affected persons and completion of outstanding works, ensuring the project delivers its full development impact.
Approved on 07 April, the additional financing addresses updated cost estimates undertaken during implementation as well as outstanding environmental and social commitments. It will ensure that all affected households receive due compensation and that connections are completed.
Since its approval in 2015, UREAP Phase I has expanded electricity access across rural and peri-urban areas, connecting households, businesses, and public institutions to the national grid. The project has provided last-mile connections to 137,770 households, benefiting 670,000 people.
"This financing ensures that no community is left behind. It allows us to complete what we started, honour commitments made to affected families and secure lasting development impact," said the Bank's East Africa Regional Manager for Energy, Aleymahu Wubeshet-Zegeye.
Building on the strong performance during Phase I, the Bank Group also approved, on 7 April, the second phase of UREAP (UREAP II). Phase II has a total cost of €104.39 million, and includes an African Development Bank loan of €86.58 million, a loan of €12.93 million and a grant of €1.72 million both from the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), alongside €3.16 million in Government of Uganda counterpart contributions.
UREAP II will construct approximately 624 km of medium-voltage and 2,154 km of low-voltage distribution networks, delivering an estimated 259,723 new grid and mini-grid connections over six years--including more than 250,000 households, 3,000 businesses, and public institutions such as schools and health centres.
These new connections build on the 141,700 already achieved under Phase I and are expected to provide first-time electricity access to nearly 1.18 million people, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and unprocessed biomass.
The Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project is a flagship intervention under the African Development Bank Group's Country Strategy Paper for Uganda (2022-2026) and contributes to Mission 300, a joint initiative with the World Bank Group to connect 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030.
