Ruzizi III Energy Limited has launched the initial selection process for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the Ruzizi III regional hydropower project on the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.
The contract is planned to be tendered in late 2022 with work scheduled to commence in early 2023. The contract, which has an estimated total value of €436 million (excluding VAT), and is expected to take 56 months, will include the engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of a 45 m-high embankment dam with associated spillway, low level outlet, and a small eco-flow unit, a 3.8 km-long, 6.7 m diameter, concrete-lined headrace tunnel from the dam reservoir to the powerhouse, penstock and unit penstocks, power station and switchyard, a 7.3 km-long, 220 kV double-circuit transmission line connecting the Ruzizi III substation to the regional dispatch station in Kamanyola (DRC), access roads from Bugarama (Rwanda) and Kamanyola (DRC) to the dam site, and all ancillary and related works. The power station will have three generating units and a 3 MW eco-flow unit, with a combined installed capacity of 206 MW.
The Public Private Partnership project, on the Ruzizi river, which flows from Lake Kivu to Lake Tanganyika, and which delineates the southern border of Rwanda with DRC and also forms the border between DRC and Burundi, is being developed on a BOOT basis by Ruzizi III Energy, a consortium of Industrial Promotion Services (IPS), the industrial and infrastructure development arm of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), and Norway’s SN Power (owned by Scatec ASA), on behalf of the Governments of Burundi, the DRC and Rwanda. A 25-year concession agreement and PPAs were signed in July 2019 between the developer, the three governments and the respective national utilities of Burundi, the DRC, and Rwanda.
The borrower has secured approval from the African Development Bank for part of the funding for the project, and is currently negotiating the remaining financing from a number of other multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, European Investment Bank, Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the French Development Agency (AFD), and the EU. Initial selection documents will be made available, in electronic format and free of charge, in a dedicated electronic system. Those wanting further information or interested in applying can request access to the electronic system by sending an email to the address given below.
Contact: Luciano Canale, Project Director, Ruzizi III Energy Limited, Sanlam Towers, Wing 4A, 4th Floor, KN 67 St 10, Kigali 3300, Rwanda; Tel: +25 0781553634; Email: luciano.canale@ruzizienergy.com; and Loncény Magassouba, Ruzizi III Energy, Cité Chemin de Fer, Commune de Kaloum, BP 1463, Rue KA 050, Kigali, Rwanda; Tel: +224 622676247; Email: RuziziIII_EPC_InitialSelection@ruzizienergy.com.
