HIS Highness the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, will launch the Bujagali hydropower project. This will be part of the celebrations to mark his 50 years of leadership this month.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Daudi Migereko, yesterday said the IPS Group of Companies, the economic arm of the Aga Khan group, is one of the sponsors of the project.
The construction of the power dam kicked-off in Jinja and the project is expected to be completed in 44 months.
His Highness will also lay the foundation stone for the Aga Khan Academy. The Aga Khan will visit Kenya and Tanzania as he marks his golden jubilee.
He was scheduled to arrive in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, yesterday, according to the Aga Khan Development Network. “In the Ismaili tradition, the Imam’s jubilee celebrations offer occasions to launch new social, cultural and economic development projects,” the statement said.
While in Kenya, the Aga Khan is expected to lay the foundation stone for the Faculty of Health Sciences of the East Africa chapter of the Aga Khan University, as well as the residential campus for the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa.
He will also meet members of the Ismaili community and top government officials, the statement added.
He is also expected to address the East African Community Summit in Arusha, Tanzania and inspect projects funded by the Aga Khan Development Network.
The Aga Khan succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, as the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims.
He is the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims, comprising of ethnically and culturally diverse peoples living in over 25 countries around the world.
He is the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network.