Rwanda’s energy sector receives $91.2m investment to boost power capacity

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and other lenders such as the Development Finance Institutions have committed an amount of $91.25 million to the development of Rwanda’s Kivuwatt power project.

The project will increase Rwanda’s installed power capacity by 40% and expected to displace expensive electricity.

The investment is under a loan agreement signed between partners and ContourGlobal, a project developer, on Wednesday August 24, 2011 in Kigali.

According to the AfDB, the project’s total cost is $142.2 million of which the Bank is providing $25 million and Development Finance Institutions will contribute $91 million.

The AfDB indicates that its financing targets Phase 1 of the KivuWatt project which will integrate methane gas extraction and a power production facility by methane-powered reciprocating engine generator with a combined capacity of 25 megawatts net output.

“The AfDB financing targets Phase 1 of the KivuWatt project – an integrated-methane gas extraction and power production facility. Phase 1 involves gas extraction using a floating barge located approximately 12.5 km offshore from the city of Kibuye.  The extracted gas will be further processed and pumped ashore for use in a power plant via a submerged floating pipeline,” said the Bank in a statement on its website.

It adds that the project is in line with Rwanda’s Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy, which is designed to reduce electricity production costs and diversify the country’s electricity generation, focusing on indigenous resources, including Lake Kivu methane gas, hydro, and geothermal.

By Ekow Quandzie