- The government is launching the Burundian part of the electricity project with Rwanda in Burundi.
- The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Union (EU) co-financed the project.
East Africa is integrating its energy supply. The two nations of Rwanda and Burundi have chosen to join their electrical networks. Selemani Khamis, the Permanent Secretary of the Burundian Ministry of Hydraulics, Energy, and Mines, just announced the project’s Burundian component. This took place in front of Pascal Yembeline, the country manager for the African Development Bank (AfDB) group in Burundi, and Claude Bochum, ambassador and head of the EU delegation in Burundi.
The project entails building a 220 kV line from the Burundi-Rwanda border to the city of Gitega via the Burundian town of Ngozi, where a high- and medium-voltage transformer station will be set up. In addition, an element devoted to rural electrification benefits the communities along the project’s route. These are Mutaho in the province of Gitega, Mivo in the province of Ngozi, and Muhanga in Kayanza. The Burundian Water and Electricity Production and Distribution Board (REGIDESO) has given the task to a group that was put together by the Korean company Hanbaek and the Indian company Transrail Lighting.
Burundi will be able to meet its population’s and industries’ electrical needs thanks to the electricity hookup with Rwanda. The installed capacity of this East African nation is currently 82 MW, according to GET Invest, a European initiative that encourages investment in renewable energy in developing nations. In addition, only 11% of Burundians, who will number close to 12 million by 2020 according to the World Bank, have access to power.
With 210 MW of existing capacity, Rwanda, which wants to trade energy with Burundi, is in a different scenario. 73% of Rwandan households, according to the government-owned Rwanda Energy Group (REG), have access to electricity. Of these, 51% are connected to the national grid, and 22% have access to electricity through off-grid solutions.