- Government embarks on the Nyabarongo II hydropower project.
- The country plans to achieve universal access to electricity by 2024.
The Authorities of Rwanda have embarked on the Nyabarongo II hydropower plant project which will be established on River Nyabarongo in a bid to achieve universal access to electricity by 2024.
Located 27 kilometres from Kigali at the junction between the Southern and the Northern provinces, the groundbreaking for the construction was launched on Saturday, May 21.
The $214 million project will be the first phase of the Nyabarongo II Multipurpose Development Project which is designed to control flooding on marshland along the Nyabarongo and Akagera rivers.
The project shall also generate a total of 134MW including 43.5MW of Nyabarongo II Hydropower plant, 40MW of Butamwa pump storage power plant, 40MW of Juru pump storage power plant in Bugesera and the 10.5MW of Lake Sake Outlet Hydropower plant in Ngoma District.
According to Felix Gakuba, the Managing Director of Energy Development Corporation Limited (EDCL), the project will be key in helping the country achieve its energy targets.
“We count on the project because it will boost power supply in the country, helping us reach our target of 2024 full coverage of electricity as we shall have scaled up our generation capacity,” he expressed.