Ruzizi III dam and hydro plant: Design considerations for a sustainable scheme

Ruzizi III is a strategic project for three countries: it will double Burundi’s installed capacity, increase by a third the installed capacity of Rwanda and provide affordable electricity to the grid of East DRC. It is the first public-private partnership (PPP) project in sub-Saharan Africa that will utilize a common regional water resource to generate power to be shared equally between three countries. This paper presents the main design optimizations for the project achieved when the original design was reviewed. These led to the final 206 MW configuration and the approach used to create a robust and sustainable design of the hydraulic structures, factoring in the impact of climate change.