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As one of Africa’s fastest-growing nations, Uganda laid down ambitious plans to connect its entire 45 million population to reliable electricity by 2030 in an eye-catching energy transition plan unveiled on Tuesday at Cop28.
Huge investment into renewable energy projects, through hydro, geothermal and solar power paired with a new oil pipeline, aims to double the current number of people wired to electricity supplies.
Fewer than 45 per cent of Ugandans have access to power, below the average for sub-Saharan African nations.
Despite Uganda being a continental leader in green energy, with 95 per cent of its current 2 gigawatt capacity generated by renewables, it is a controversial 1,400km heated oil pipeline that promises to transform the landlocked nation and contribute to its green energy transition.
With the development of the energy transition plan, we are a sending clear signal on Uganda’s intended direction of travel
Irene Bateebe,
permanent secretary, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development
Pumping from the Tilenga and Kingfishers sites close to Lake Albert is due to begin in 2025 and will produce up to 240,000 barrels of oil a day when fully operational.
Thousands of people have been displaced from their homes and moved to new settlements to make way for the pipeline that snakes through Tanzania into the city of Tanga on the Indian Ocean.
The project, backed by China and French oil company TotalEnergies, promises to transform the nation into an energy hub for East Africa, doubling the national GDP to about $80 billion.
While fossil fuels remain at the heart of Uganda’s economic future, it is renewable energy that will continue to power the country.
“The plan lays out an ambitious yet feasible pathway to meet the country’s growth and development objectives in a secure, affordable and sustainable way,” said Ruth Nankabirwa, Minister of Energy and Mineral Development.
“Given Uganda’s point of departure, progress on expanding energy infrastructure must kick up a notch.
“Fortunately, Uganda has an enormous amount of domestic resources that can help realise the transition. Uganda has ample potential for solar, hydroelectric and geothermal power.
“These resources will reinforce the transition and contribute to Uganda’s economic growth.”
The plan said $850 million was needed annually to reach universal access to electricity by 2030, while the overall energy transition process will need $8 billion per year from 2030 onwards.
The message that the world is not quite ready to abandon fossil fuels has been a familiar theme at Cop28 in Dubai.
“The rate of progress to reach universal access is steep but not unprecedented,” said Ms Nankabirwa.
“Reaching universal access in this decade relies on all solutions available and will deliver huge benefits for development, health and gender equity.”
Another ambitious goal is to wean 95 per cent of the nation off biomass fuels such as charcoal and wood, used to heat homes and cook food.
With Uganda's population expected to increase just short of 50 million to 70 million by 2040, energy transition is required now to prevent soaring rates of carbon emissions.
Charcoal ban
Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni recently issued an executive decree banning production and trade in charcoal in the north, where the charcoal industry is focused, in a bid to push through cleaner cooking practices.
A programme has already been launched to encourage a switch from firewood to burners using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) instead.
To achieve the universal clean cooking target, a million cleaner stoves will be needed annually until 2030.
Uganda’s energy transition plan envisages most of the population cooking on electric hobs, clean gas rings or closed combustion stoves that emit no methane, a gas which is highly damaging to the climate and public health.
The major challenge ahead is how to get a population of millions to switch practices that have been passed down through generations while reassuring them cooking by gas is safe.
Authorities said as many as 50,000 Ugandans die each year from air pollution generated from burning biomass inside homes.
If left unchecked, current demand for biomass is so high it is estimated Uganda’s entire national stock of forest and tree cover will disappear within 20 years.
“With the development of the energy transition plan, we are sending a clear signal on Uganda’s intended direction of travel to industry, investors and the global energy community,” said Irene Bateebe, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.
“We have set Uganda on a sustainable low-carbon energy development path.”
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
ACC 2019: The winners in full
Best Actress Maha Alemi, Sofia
Best Actor Mohamed Dhrif, Weldi
Best Screenplay Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia
Best Documentary Of Fathers and Sons by Talal Derki
Best Film Yomeddine by Abu Bakr Shawky
Best Director Nadine Labaki, Capernaum
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Abramovich London
A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.
A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.
Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.
Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
