Three African countries signed a energy project yesterday directed at boosting electricity output in individual nations. Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have joined forces to kick- start what is called the Ruzizi 3 project by signing the contract in Kinshasa.
Known to be the first private-funded project in sub-Saharan Africa, the factory will rely strongly on a common regional resource to produce energy that will be shared equally among the three nations. Ruzizi 3 will produce electricity that costs between 11 and 13 US cents per kilowatt, according to expectations.
Ruzizi 3 is reported to have the ability to generate up to 200 MW when extra results have been produced with an estimated original capability of 144 MW. Construction and operation is allegedly being supported by the IPS Consortium (Industrial Promotion Services and SN Power). Both businesses have also signed public-private partnership contracts with the three African nations.
Ruzizi 3, which will be situated in Bukavu in the DRC province of South Kivu, has an estimated price of USD 400 million. It is revealed that European donors such as the AFD, the European Investment Bank, KFW and the European Union will provide 54 percent of the resources.
Thanks to the African Development Bank – which is always engaged in energy projects on the continent 20 percent of the resources have been mobilized since 2015.
Ruzizi 3 will be introduced in 2021, and the project will be fully implemented in 2026. The name is derived from the River Ruzizi, through which the Kivy Lake flows into Tanganyika.
According to a declaration by Congolese Minister Pierre Kangudia, this project dates back to 1992 only because of the multiple instabilities that have hit Burundi, the DRC and Rwanda.
The Democratic Republic of Congo cut energy exports to Burundi by 3.0 MW in 2012, adding to the country’s shortfall and reducing water rates for hydropower. Burundi then obtained USD 15 million in grant from the World Bank to use emergency generators to alleviate the electricity conflict by adding 5.5 MW to the grid.
Burundi has one of the smallest electricity rates in the globe, as only about 2.5 to 3.5 percent of the 10 million individuals in the country have access to electricity. In the DRC, reliable energy can only be used by 16 percent of over 81 million individuals, and hydropower generates around 99 percent of domestic energy.
As of this year, 51% of Rwandan homes are linked to electricity, 37% to the domestic grid and the equilibrium to off-grid alternatives. The East African nation led by Paul Kagame has taken a policy choice to diversify energy sources by adding mini-grid and off-grid links to traditional dominant links.
