Kigali, 09th June, 2014-The Rukarara II micro hydroelectric power plant is located on Rukarara River in Nyamagabe District. Its construction started in 2011 and completed March 2014. The plant has added an installed capacity of 2.2 Mega Watt (MW) to the national grid. Rukarara II constructed by a German consortium of KOCHENDORFER and F.EE hydropower GmbH is the first fully automated and remote controlled power plant in Rwanda.

The final reception plant shall be at the expiration of the 2 years guarantee in June 2016. In addition to electricity, the plant construction activities created jobs to several households from the surrounding villages. The project access roads also serve surrounding communities in their daily activities and have facilitated evacuation of agricultural produce to nearby markets.  This project, whose supervision was conducted by, SHER ingenieurs-conseils, a Belgian firm will change the lives of Rwandans after being connected to the national grid.The construction and engineering activities are completed and the official inauguration of the projected is to be done soonest.

NYABARONGO I MHPP

Nyabarongo I MHPP is located in Muhanga District on Nyabarongo River. The construction of the plant started in May 2009 and is expected to add 28 MW to the national grid by early before the end of 2014. 

The plant is constructed by an Indian consortium of Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and Angelique International Limited and supervised by RSWI, a Canadian firm.  This Project with two units of 14 MW each remains the biggest domestic hydro power generation plant to date. There were delays due to unforeseen geological conditions of the site which lead to designs modification and 14 months extension of the construction contract.

With all both units now fully assembled and civil and electro-mechanical works nearing completion and the27km, 110 KV Transmission Line completed, the plant is planned to generate power into the national grid by July 2014.  This project is funded by a loan USD $ 80Million secured from the Exim bank of India and USD $ 17.7million (GoR part).

Once completed, this plant will greatly contribute towards easing Rwanda’s current power deficit. It is also in line with the Government’s objective to increase its generation capacity from current 113 MW to 563 MW by 2017.