South Sudan and Uganda have signed an agreement to extend electricity from Uganda to the border areas.

The agreement will allow Uganda to extend electricity inside South Sudan border towns of Kaya, Kajo-keji and Nimule.

According to Ugandan media, both countries will form a joint technical committee to quantify the scope of work.

The Minister for electricity, energy and dams says the move is important for socio-economic development in the country.

“This can create socio-economic development, can minimize even the rural town migration,” Dr Dhieu told the media in Kampala, Uganda.

“If we take towns or electricity to the rural areas, automatically this idea of people migrating from rural areas to towns is going to be minimized.”

For his part, the Ugandan state minister for Energy, Simon D’ Ujanga, said the two countries are implementing the East Africa Community power pool agreement which advocates member states to interconnect electricity to each other depending on proximity.

“We commit to implement the provisions of the MoU in order to facilitate clean energy to reach our people at the three border towns, Nimule, Kaya and Kajo-keji as quickly as possible,” he explained.

“That will increase power transmission capacity and that strengthen the cross border electrification at Kaya.

“This is important because the MoU signed will put in motion the activities to supply the three towns I mentioned.”

Mr. Simon added that Uganda is already implementing cross-border electrification with Rwanda and Tanzania.

By the year 2019, Uganda will have about 1,900MW of power to meet the country’s industrialization and rural electrification targets, Energy Minister Irene Muloni, said recently.

Uganda’s current total installed capacity is 950MW, of which Nalubaale Power Station (Owen Falls Dam) contributes 180 megawatts.