RUBAVU - The regional methane gas project which was agreed upon by Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo is set to kick off next month a senior government official has said.

The Minister of Finance, James Musoni revealed that the two countries have named the technical teams that are working on plans for the 200MW project and are to begin the implementation in one month.

"The team is already in place and funds are available, so the works are to begin by next month and possibly integrate Burundi since all resources are available,” the minister of finance James Musoni said

Musoni said the team is developing the project and will continue to monitor the first phase of the project that is expected to consume between $250-300 million.

Congolese Industry Minister told reporters that the joint project is needed urgently to boost power sector in the region and to mitigate any catastrophes that the gases may cause.

The lake is shared between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

The study document will highlight several issues, including the lake’s energy potential, market in the region, technology to be used, time frame for discussion and project financing.

Studies show that the amount of methane gas and carbon dioxide in the bottom of Lake Kivu has increased by 30 percent in the last 30 years.

It is estimated that the joint exploitation of the methane gas will generate about 200 Megawatts (MW), the input of which is expected to significantly reduce the energy gap.
Rwanda’s current capacity is evaluated at 61MW serving close to six percent of the total population, which is about 110,000 electric connections.

The initiative to jointly exploit the methane gas was fostered by the recent historic meeting between Presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Joseph Kabila of DRC, who vowed to move beyond security concerns and explore joint trade and investment opportunities. 

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