The push for regional power sharing in East Africa has received a major boost after the World Bank approved funding for the Rusumo Falls hydroelectric project, on the Rwanda-Tanzania border.

The World Bank approved $340-million to finance the construction of the plant, which will provide electricity for Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.

The plant, the total cost of which is $468-million, will generate 80 MW when it is completed in 2017. The remaining amount is being provided by the International Development Association, the World Bank’s fund for the globe’s poorest nations.

The plant is expected to boost power supply to the three neighbouring countries, reduce electricity costs and enhance regional cooperation.

“The Rusumo Falls hydroelectric project takes a regional approach to tackling sub-Saharan Africa’s power crisis, providing low-cost, clean, renewable energy,” says Jamal Saghir, World Bank director for sustainable development in the Africa region.

He adds that the project is the first implemented under the bank’s Great Lakes Regional Initiative, launched in May this year.

Implementation of the project, which was conceived in 2006, comes at a time when Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania are investing in projects to boost electricity generation and address perennial shortages. The three countries have, time and again, been forced to ration electricity.

The project also involves the con-struction of 220 kV transmission lines from the power station to Gitega, in Burundi, Kigali, the Rwandan capital, and Nyakanazi, in Tanzania.
Currently, only 15% and 13% of the populations Tanzania and Rwanda respectively have access to electricity. The situation is worse in Burundi, where only 4% of the country’s people have access.

“We look forward to speedy implemen-tation so that the idea of sharing natural resources for mutual benefit becomes a reality and helps to build peace, stability and economic opportunity for all com-munities in the Great Lakes region,” says World Bank senior energy specialist Paul Baringanire.