The Rwandan government has started the construction of a brand new power plant, expected to boost the East African country’s electrical capacity by 43.5 MW by the end of 2024, local publication The New Times reports.

The Nyabarongo II Hydropower Plant, located on the Nyabarongo river, will be built by China's Sinohydro, a state-owned hydropower engineering and construction company. The $214mn project will be financed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China.

“We count on the project because it will boost power supply in the country, helping us reach our target of 2024 full coverage of electricity, as we shall have scaled up our generation capacity,” Felix Gakuba, managing director of Rwanda's Energy Development Corporation, is quoted as saying.

The project is designed to boost the government’s bid to ensure universal access to electricity by 2024. It is also designed to control flooding on marshland along Nyabarongo and Akagera rivers.

According to Wang Jiaxin, Charge d'Affaires in the Chinese Embassy of Rwanda, the plant will also help create arable land. “Every year, floods harm infrastructure and the livelihood of the local people and due to some topographic features, some people do not have access to electricity,” he said.

In the building of the plant, Chinese contractors will work alongside Rwandan engineers and technicians and employ more than 1,000 locals. Li Jianguo, the project manager, said the plant will also help Rwanda achieve its COP26 UN climate change targets, according to The New Times.

 

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