Burundi completes the first phase of a $320 million power project

According to a press release, Burundi commissioned on Wednesday the first phase of an $320 million hydropower plant financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), the African Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank.

According to the African Development Bank, only 6% of Central Africa's 13 million people have access to electricity. The nation's generation capacity is approximately 40 megawatts.

Two plants, Jiji and Mulembwe, have been built on two small rivers of southern Burundi. The combined capacity is 49.5 megawatts. Jiji went online on Wednesday while Mulembwe is expected to be operational in the next few months. This was revealed by a joint press release from the lenders including the European Union.

The statement said that "this new capacity will improve access to electric power for thousands of people and will boost productivity in important sectors like health, education, agriculture, ICT, and agribusiness," Edward Claessen, head of the regional hub of the European Investment Bank for East Africa was quoted saying that the project is part of EU strategy to develop clean, sustainable energy infrastructure in Africa. This will boost decarbonisation. (Written by Elias Biryabarema, edited by Ayen deng Bior and Kevin Liffey).

(source: Reuters)