The Nyabarongo II Multipurpose Dam, is a multipurpose dam under construction across the

Nyabarongo River The Nyabarongo (or Nyawarungu) is a major river in Rwanda, part of the upper headwaters of the Nile. With a total length of , it is the longest river entirely in Rwanda. It is extended in Lake Rweru including a upper course of Kagera River befor ...

in Rwanda. The dam will measure high and long, creating a reservoir with storage capacity of . The reservoir is also expected to provide irrigation water to an estimated of land, downstream of the dam site. In addition, the dam will host Nyabarongo II Hydroelectric Power Station, with installed generating capacity of 43.5 megawatts.

Location

Nyabarongo II Dam is located near the town of Shyorongi, in

Rulindo District Rulindo is a district (''akarere'') in Northern Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Tare (also known as Bushoki). Geography The district lies roughly halfway between Kigali and Ruhengeri, and is very mountainous, containing Mount Kabuye. Its pri ...

, in the Northern Province of Rwanda. This is approximately northwest of Kigali, the capital and largest city in that country.

History

In June 2018, the

government of Rwanda The politics of Rwanda reflect Belgian and German civil law systems and customary law takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential republic, whereby the President of Rwanda is the head of state with significant executive power, with the Pr ...

, through ''Energy Development Corporation Limited'' (EDCL), a subsidiary of Rwanda Energy Group (REG), agreed with

Sinohydro Sinohydro ( Chinese: 中国水电; long form: 中国水利水电建设集团公司) is a Chinese state-owned hydropower engineering and construction company. In the 2012 Engineering News-Record Top 225 Global Contractors, a ranking by annual rev ...

for the latter to build this multipurpose dam to (a) store irrigation water (b) to regulate flooding downstream of this dam and (c) generate 43.5 megawatts of hydroelectric energy to add to the national grid. In April 2019, the agreements between the parties were clarified. Sinohydro was tasked to build the dam and have the components working, no later than 2025. The building model to be used was agreed to be "build, own, operate and transfer" (BOOT). The cost of the project was budgeted at $214 million. Nyabarongo II Power Station is intended to augment the Nyabarongo I Hydroelectric Power Station, upstream of Nyabarongo II.

Development, funding and timeline

The engineering, procurement, and construction contract was awarded to

, the Chinese state-owned hydropower, engineering and construction company, at a contract price of US$214 million. The funds were borrowed by the Government of Rwanda, from the

Exim Bank of China The Export–Import Bank of China (Chexim - China Exim Bank) () is one of two institutional banks in China chartered to implement the state policies in industry, foreign trade, economy, and foreign aid to other developing countries, and provi ...

on concessional terms. Construction began in April 2021 and is scheduled to last until December 2025.

Associated infrastructure

In addition to the dam and power station, Sinohydro is under contract to construct the following infrastructure, as part of this project: (a) a bridge across the

(b) a switchyard and a 110kV substation (c) a 110kV transmission line measuring , from the power station to the substation at

Rulindo Rulindo is a district (''akarere'') in Northern Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Tare (also known as Bushoki). Geography The district lies roughly halfway between Kigali and Ruhengeri, and is very mountainous, containing Mount Kabuye. Its pr ...

, where the energy will enter the national grid and (d) a permanent road to the site of the dam. All that to be completed in 56 months.

References

External links