Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance signed a grant agreement with Denmark which would see the country providing $10 million towards the Danish-Ethiopia Energy Partnership (DEEP) and Phase 1 of the Ethiopian Danish Strategic Water Sector Cooperation (WATER SSC), an energy initiative and water project, respectively. DEEP will be implemented through Ethiopia’s Ministry of Water and Energy alongside state-owned electricity companies Ethiopian Electric Power (responsible for generation and transmission) and Ethiopian Electric Utility (responsible for distribution).
The project, according to the Ministry, “is aimed at undertaking energy modeling and planning as an important tool in creating a clean, stable and secure energy supply, and strengthening the integration of variable renewable energy.”
The WATER SSC project aims to improve access to clean water services across the cities of Hawassa and Dire Dawa – areas which struggle with water challenges due to urbanization, population growth and water over-extraction from industrial and agricultural use.
The investment will advance both energy and water access across the country on the back of bilateral cooperation, “great cooperation [which] will continue and expand,” Denmark’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Kira Sindbjerg shared.
