Project Objective


To increase Supply of Electricity to the National Grids of Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania

  • Capacity to be installed: 80 MW
  • Beneficiaries: 27MW for each member country's national grid
  • Location: Kagera River: Northwest Tanzania in Ngara district and Southeast Rwanda in Kirehe district
  • Project Cost: 340 Million USD for the Power Plant funded by the World Bank and 128.6 Million USD for the Transmission Lines funded by the African Development Bank
  • Ownership: Rusumo Power Company Limited (RPCL) owned by Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania
  • Implementing Agency: Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP) on behalf of RPCL
  • Owner’s Engineer: Joint venture of AECOM-ARTELIA from Canada and France 
  • Contractor CP1: Joint Venture of CGCOC Group and Jiangxi Water & Hydropower Construction Company (JWHC) China
  • Contractor CP2: Joint Venture of Andritz Hydro Germany and Andritz Hydro India 
  • Power Plant Component
  • Construction period: 2017-2020 (36 months)
  • Dam Type: concrete / Height: 13m / Length including spillway: 116m
  • Headrace tunnel: Length: 700m / Width x height: 9m x 12-13m
  • Power house: Installed capacity: 80MW (497GWh/year)
  • Tailrace canal: 250m long and 45m wide
  • Switchyard: 220 kV

Key Project Milestones

  • ESIA & RAP studies completed: February 2013
  • Project Financing Agreements signed: 11thOctober 2013
  • Rusumo Power Company Limited (RPCL) established: April 2013
  • Preparations, negotiations and signing of various Project Agreements
  • Project financing effectiveness: 11thJuly 2014
  • Owners Engineer recruited: June 2014
  • Compensation and land acquisition: Completed
  • Construction contracts signed: 9thNovember 2016
  • Construction commencement: February 2017
  • Completion and Commissioning: February 2020