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A construction start  is expected in Q3 2021 at the 4.22MW run-of-river Bihongora Hydro  IPP in the valley of the Bihongora River in Rubavu District, Western Province – provided Covid-19 doesn’t cause further unexpected delays, East African Power (EAP) projects director John Lee Pattinson told African Energy.

Construction will commence on the Nyabarongo II hydropower plant in Rwanda’s Rulindo District next month

Off-grid solar company Solarise Africa announced on 9 February it had signed a partnership agreement with turnkey energy firm Centennial Generating Company. The deal sees Solarise Africa acquire stakes in seven projects in Rwanda, two in Zambia and one in Uganda, spread across the education, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, hospitality and agriculture sectors.

Energie des Grands Lacs (EGL) is set to launch studies for the development of the Ruzizi IV regional hydropower plant  on the Ruzizi River, which forms the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. The international organisation formed under the auspices of the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries has issued a general procurement notice for consulting services to study the technical, economic, financial and institutional feasibility of the 287MW run-of-river project as well as assess the environmental, social and climate change impacts and determine appropriate mitigation measures.

Off-grid solar company Solarise Africa announced on 9 February that it had signed a partnership agreement with turnkey energy firm Centennial Generating Company.

Ruzizi III Energy invites prequalification bids by 15 February 2021 for the engineering, procurement and construction of the Ruzizi III regional hydropower project on the border between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

Participants at an Africa Investment Exchange panel on strategies for regional integration and transmission investment on 27 October provided an update on the progress of the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP), where the secretariat has been busy preparing for electricity trading and a growing network of interconnections. By far the most advanced construction work is on interconnectors between Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania, which are expected to transmit their first power between April and June next year.

Engie Africa launched a pilot project earlier this month to provide purified water, power and Wi-Fi to off-grid communities in Kigali, Rwanda.

The World Bank Group board on 17 September approved $150m from the International Development Association (IDA) and $10m grant from the Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme for the $288m Energy Access and Quality Improvement Project in Rwanda. The IDA financing includes a $75m loan and $75m grant.

Germany’s Fichtner in consortium with France’s Nodalis Conseil and ISL Ingénierie have been awarded a contract worth €3.585m to act as consulting engineers for the 147 MW Ruzizi III hydropower project on the borders of Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Export-Import Bank of China is to extend a concessional loan worth $214m to the government of Rwanda to finance the 43.5MW Nyabarongo II hydropower project and associated transmission infrastructure. Representatives of the two governments signed a framework agreement on 8 February paving the way for the disbursement of the loan, which will finance the construction of the hydropower plant, a substation, and a 110kV transmission line to connect the plant to the grid.

Norway-based Empower New Energy AS signed a power purchase agreement in December with Rwanda Energy Group for the 1.9MW Rucanzogera run-of-river hydropower plant. The plant, developed by Travaux d’Ingénierie Générale du Rwanda in partnership with Norwegian engineering and construction company Malthe Winje, will deliver 9GWh/yr of energy at a cost of $7.9m. Construction work is scheduled to start in Q2 this year for commissioning in December 2021, Malthe Winje chairman Tor Berntsen told African Energy.

DP World on 21 October formally inaugurated the Kigali Logistics Platform (KLP), a dry port facility which aims to process cargo for the region. The facility, which has been operational since September 2018, has capacity of 50,000 20-foot equivalent units.DP World said the KLP had reduced truck turnaround time to three days from ten to 14 days previously. There are plans to extend the existing railways from Mombasa to Kampala and from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma so that they reach Kigali, with a cargo rail siding located at KLP.

Distributed solar company BBOXX has launched its ePay system in Rwanda. The payment system is designed to take advantage of the roughly $180m of remittances sent back to the country each year by allowing Rwanda’s diaspora to make payments for solar home systems and appliances on behalf of friends and family in the country.