East Africa mega hydro power project nears completion

Water flows through the open spillway gates upstream the waterfalls at the Rusumo border between Rwanda and Tanzania for the regional Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project on Aug. 20, 2022. Construction of the regional Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project has reached an implementation status of 95 percent before operational, Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program Coordination Unit (NELSAP-CU) said in a statement on Saturday. (Photo by Cyril Ndegeya/Xinhua)

KIGALI, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Construction of the regional Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project has reached an implementation status of 95 percent before operational, Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program Coordination Unit (NELSAP-CU) said in a statement on Saturday.

NELSAP-CU is managing the power project on behalf of the governments of Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanzania, the owners of the project.

The 80 MW regional Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project located at the Rusumo border between Rwanda and Tanzania is expected to benefit over a million people in East Africa when completed.

The Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project upon completion will boost economic activities, private sector development, and investments in infrastructure through improved access to electricity in the region, said Ernest Nsabimana, Rwandan minister of infrastructure who led the project's council of ministers on Saturday at the site to take stock of the power plant construction progress.

The event was also attended by Ibrahim Uwizeye, Burundian minister for hydraulic, energy, and mines, and January Yusuf Makamba, Tanzanian minister of energy among others.

The delegation assessed the progress of the power intake construction site, the powerhouse, and the switchyard, said the statement.

The civil and hydro-mechanical works are at 97 percent to completion and now working on-site restoration and cleaning, according to the statement. The progress of the electromechanical work is at about 93 percent while the powerhouse downstream walls have been completed.

The superstructure erection is ongoing and is planned to be fully enclosed by end of the year, it added.

The council of ministers noted that the project's environmental social health safety is a good practice to be shared with other future hydroelectric projects and the quality of all work remains very high and world-class.

Resettlement action plan continues to be finalized, said the statement.

Each of the three countries will receive 26 MW directly connected to their respective national grid through the transmission lines, which are expected to benefit over one million people in the three countries.

The construction of the hydroelectric power plant is funded by the World Bank for 340 million U.S. dollars.