The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$8.91mn grant drawn from the European Union’s Africa Investment Platform (EU-AIP) to support Ruzizi IV Hydropower Project, to be situated on the Ruzizi River between Rwanda and Congo
The plant will supply electricity to the Congo, Burundi and Rwanda.
When completed, Ruzizi IV is projected to produce 287MW of electricity and exploit the Ruzizi River’s full hydropower potential. Two power plants are already in operation: Ruzizi I produces 29.8MW and Ruzizi II, 43.8MW; a third, Ruzizi III, with a projected 147MW output is under development with Bank support.
The project is set to provide electricity to millions of households, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises and industries, thereby improving the living conditions of the regional population. Greater and more reliable access to electricity will also improve the quality of basic social service delivery including health, education and improved security.
The grant approval follows a US$980,000 grant approved end-2018 by the New Partnership for Africa Development’s Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF), which is a multi-donor Special Fund hosted by the Bank, to co-finance this technical assistance.
Ruzizi Hydropower Plant Project IV meets the goal shared by Burundi, Congo and Rwanda to optimise exploitation of their energy resources by integrating electricity generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure. The project falls within the overall regional energy market framework being developed by the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme (NELSAP) and the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP).
Ruzizi IV aligns with the Bank's High 5 priority to "Light up and power Africa", as well as the Bank’s strategy on regional integration, and specifically, development of regional energy infrastructure.
