AfDB approves $180 M loan for last mile connectivity in Rwanda
Rwanda, Kigali: The African Development Bank has approved two loans that will reinforce transmission and last mile connectivity in Rwanda.
Image source: ESI Africa
Rwanda, Kigali: The African Development Bank has approved two loans that will reinforce transmission and last mile connectivity in Rwanda.
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved the two loans amounting to $180 M to co-finance a major energy project that will extend electricity access to rural areas and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Rwanda.
This follows the 26 May 2021 approval for $84.2 M from the resources of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the Bank Group, for the same project.
The project will entail the construction of more than 1,000 km of medium voltage and 3,300 km of low voltage lines to boost last mile access. It will also build 137 km of high voltage line and six substations required to strengthen the grid. Other features of the project include the installation or upgrading of more than 1,200 distribution transformers and related infrastructure.
The project will connect 77,470 households to the electricity network for the first time. It will also connect 75 schools, eight health centres and 65 administration centres, while enabling the evacuation of 125 MW of clean energy from hydropower plants.
“The rationale for the Bank’s intervention is to support the country’s pursuit of 100 % access to electricity by 2024. The project will contribute to enhancing the quality of life by facilitating improved education and health provision as well as promoting private sector growth, hence contributing to Rwanda’s social and economic transformation agenda which aims to transition Rwanda from a developing country to a middle-income country by 2035,” said Aissa Tour-Sarr, the AfDB country manager in Rwanda, during the approval of the project.
Source: ESI Africa