The African Development Bank (AfDB) in conjunction with the Government of Rwanda has signed a US$25m agreement that will see the construction of the Ruzizi III regional hydropower plant.
The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Claver Gatete, said the concessional loan is one of the cheapest (only 0.75%) and is to be paid back in 38 years with a grace period of 5 years.
Ruzizi III hydropower plant, which is shared by Rwanda, Burundi, and the DRC is expected to generate over 147MW of electricity to be shared equally amongst the three participating countries, with Rwanda getting at least 50MW of electricity.
Gatete indicated that this is the first regional project designed as a public-private partnership aimed at optimising hydropower potential across the region.
Negatu Makonnen, the AfDB country representative, said that the development includes construction of an 8.3-kilometer and 220-KV transmission line connecting Kyamanyola power dispatch centre and associated power evacuating lines.
“Sustainable regional infrastructure is a necessity for strong regional integration and key to successfully tackling challenging climate change-related problems. The Ruzizi III Hydropower Plant Project is central to AfDB’s strategic vision for developing the African energy sector,” Makonen said.
The project is expected to commence in 2018 and will take 4 years to complete.
Rwanda is currently relying on hydro-power, which accounts for 97.37MW of electricity, while thermal energy contributes 51.7MW, and methane gas, 3.6MW.
