APA – Kigali (Rwanda) – A new power-generating unit at Rusumo hydropower station in Eastern Rwanda near the border with Tanzania will start formal operation this month, an official source disclosed Wednesday to APA in Kigali.
It is expected that the regional Rusumo Hydroelectric Project will generate approximately 80MWs to be shared equally between Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.
The joint development was entered by the three governments through a Tripartite Agreement signed in 2012.
The project is located at Rusumo Falls, at the common border of Rwanda and Tanzania on River Kagera. The power production facilities are located entirely on the south side of the bank of the Kagera River in Tanzania, while the substation is located on the northern side of the bank of the river in Rwanda.
The construction of the multinational Rusumo falls hydroelectric plant has been financed by the World Bank at a cost of $340 million.
Transmission lines that are being used to evacuate power to the national grid in the three countries arave beene financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to the tune of $121 million.
Rwanda has set a target to achieve its 100 per cent electrification target, by 2024, as set in the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1).
Rwanda’s current cumulative connectivity rate is at 61.0% of Rwandan households including 47% connected to the national grid and 14% accessing through off-grid systems (mainly solar), according to official statistics.
CU/abj/APA