The government of Rwanda is set to receive a financial boost for its Rwanda Energy Access and Quality Improvement Project (EAQIP) after the Executive Board of the World Bank approved US$ 150M, half of the entire amount as a grant and the other half as a loan for the implementation of the project.
The objective of the project is to increase access to modern energy for households, enterprises, and public institutions; and enhance the efficiency of electricity services in the East African Country.
The approximately US$ 288M is co-financed by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) (joint co-financing), the OFID (parallel co-financing), and SFD (parallel co-financing).
An overview of the project
The Rwanda Energy Access and Quality Improvement Project (EAQIP) is divided into three main components through which the government of Rwanda (GoR) through the Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA) aims to attain its objective.
The first component, i.e. increasing access to the state’s electricity grid, will help increase connectivity for residents within 14 administrative districts in three provinces of the country namely Western, Southern and Northern Provinces while the second component is to enhance the efficiency of electricity service through the rehabilitation of the Ntaruka Hydro Power Plant, investing in the improvement of stability and reliability of the power system and improving the operational performance of Energy Utility Corporation Limited (EUCL).
Lastly, the government plans to increase off-grid electricity access as well as access to clean cooking solutions.
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Expectations for the project
Upon completion, the project will provide 2.15 million people with access to “reliable, sustainable, modern and affordable” electricity and at the same time help reduce Rwanda’s dependence on polluting cooking fuels by 50 percent.
The project is in line with the government of the East African country hopes to provide universal access to electricity by 2024 and to clean cooking fuels by 2030.
