Rwanda receives € 10 million to support electricity access roll out

The Government of Rwanda and the Kingdom of Belgium today signed a financing agreement worth € 10 million (approximately Frw 8.7 billion) to support electricity access roll-out program (EARP) through Rwanda Energy Group. This financial agreement will see Belgium contributing € 10 million while Government of Rwanda will supplement it with € 2million.

The grant support will improve access to reliable on-grid electricity services for households and priority public institutions. Specifically the support will mainly focus on two main areas:

1.Upgrade of existing networks

The funding will be used to upgrade 6.6kV to 30kV for a distance of 12km MV network and upgrade of 10 cabins on Rubavu Network. It will also be used to upgrade the single phase to three phase network with a distance of 200km MV network in the Eastern Province.

2.Capacity Building

Part of the support will be used to build the capacity of Electricity Development Corporation Limited staff to be able to plan, contract and manage grid interventions, whether it is grid extension or grid upgrade.

Speaking after the signing event, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Claver Gatete underscored that energy was crucial for country’s development and social wellbeing of Rwandans.

“As we continue to increase power production, it is important that it distributed and accessed. Therefore the overall aim of this intervention is to provide sufficient, reliable and affordable energy for all Rwandans,” Minister Gatete said.

Pauwels Arnout, the Belgian Ambassador to Rwanda said: “We are pleased to provide support to the electrification program which is absolutely essential to the development of this country.”

The Kingdom of Belgium is a long time development partner to Rwanda and provides support to Energy and health sectors.

The current indicative program, between Belgium and Rwanda allocates a total grant envelope of €49 million to the energy sector in Rwanda, split over 4 interventions which include: Improving access to reliable and cost effective electricity services, capacity building, development of geothermal energy and private sector participation in energy generation.