Burundi’s largest electricity substation, a 160 megavolts facility in Rubirizi, financed by the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) and the European Union, will increase the country’s electricity-connected population by 7 percent when completed.

A delegation from the government of Burundi and the African Development Bank visited the site on 9 August 2024, as part of a tour of electrification projects funded or co-funded by the Bank Group in Rubirizi and Kabezi, in Bujumbura Rural Province.

The delegation included the Burundian Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Audace Niyonzima, the Minister of Water, Energy and Mines, Ibrahim Uwizeye, Director General of the state-owned water and electricity production and distribution company, Lieutenant Colonel Jean Albert Manigomba, alongside the Bank’s Country Manager for Burundi, Pascal Yembiline, Raymond Kitandala Luhana, a consultant on the Bank’s energy projects in Burundi, and the project coordinator, Ezechiel Bagayayutunze.

The Rubirizi substation is being constructed as part of the Kamanyola-Bujumbura Interconnection Project, for which the Bank and the European Union are providing joint funding of USD 37 million. Scheduled for completion in December 2024, the substation will be the injection point for energy produced by the Ruzizi III regional hydroelectric power station, which is also receiving funding from the Bank.

The substation will strengthen the reliability and stability of the electricity network in Bujumbura, the country’s economic capital, and will improve its flexibility of use. It will be connected to existing lines to distribute the energy produced by national power stations until the completion of the Ruzizi III station.

In Kabezi, the delegation toured electrification works comprising phase 1 of the Access to Energy Project (https://apo-opa.co/4cpjqGU), which covers 36 locations in 11 provinces in Burundi. This project – funded by the Bank and the Burundian government, at a total cost of USD 26 million – will connect 25,000 households in the beneficiary towns and villages. The first connections for new customers are scheduled for the first quarter of 2025.

The delegation commended the quality of cooperation between Burundi and the Bank in developing critical infrastructure. It also noted the challenges to be tackled, including implementation delays, and the need to speed up the payment of fair compensation to affected persons.

The African Development Bank is a key partner for Burundi’s development of its electrical infrastructure. As at 31 July 2024, the Bank Group’s commitment to the energy sector amounted to USD 147 million, to fund five projects: two national projects (the hydroelectric power station projects in Jiji and Mulembwe, and Phase 1 of the Access to Energy Project) and three regional projects (the Kamanyola-Bujumbura Interconnection Project, Kigoma-Gitega Interconnection Project, and the Ruzizi III Regional Hydroelectric Power Station Project).