The 250-megawatts plant, expected to easy power crisis in the country, will take about 44 months to complete. Two plants currently produce 380 megawatts.

Donors are contributing 750 million dollars while the government is throwing in 20 million dollars for the project located in Naminya, about 90 kilometres (55 miles) east of Kampala.

"This project has been on our books for a long time and the delay in the construction of this plant plunged this country into a power supply deficit which has greatly affected our economy," Museveni said.

The Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of Ismail Muslims, described the project as a "fundamental necessity."

"But just imagine for a moment the transformation that can take place when the cost of power is cut by more than half, as it will be in the early stages of this project, and then is later cut in half again," added the Aga Khan.

The state-run National Environmental Managment Agency (NEMA) approved the project, which had initially ran into trouble when environmentalists said it would destroy waterfalls, after it was redesigned.

On Monday, traditional elders performed rituals -- with feasts on cows, goats and chicken -- at the site for its successful completion.

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