Nyabarongo power plant to be switched on tomorrow

Engineers were yesterday putting final touches on Nyabarongo I hydro power station in Muhanga District, saying the 28-megawatts dam will start supplying electricity to the national grid tomorrow. This was revealed yesterday during the monthly community work (Umuganda) carried out around the dam by staff of the Ministry of Infrastructure and affiliated agencies. “We have enough water to run the turbines; I must say, we are set to generate power in a day or two,” said Pratap Chandra Dutta, an engineer at the plant. This was reiterated by the Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Energy Group Ltd, Mugiraneza Jean Bosco, who said that by Monday, turbines shall be generating power at Nyabarongo. Official commissioning of the power project is however expected sometime in November. The dam, located on River Nyabarongo in Mushishiro, Muhanga District, has consumed $100 million since construction began in 2009, and will be the biggest dam in the country so far operating two turbines each generating 14 megawatts. The Minister of Infrastructure James Musoni, in his recent site visit, had given the contractor, Angelique International, up to October 31 to deliver the 28 megawatts to the national electricity grid. The company then assured the minister that power from the dam would be ready to generate power as soon as water was enough. Indeed, by yesterday, the turbines, reservoirs, diversion tunnel and intake structure, had all been operational. “All is complete, apart from synchronizing the power for generation,” said Dutta. The Minister of Natural Resources Dr. Vincent Biruta, who was the chief guest at the community work, said expropriation of some people affected by the project will be handled expeditiously. “I can assure you that expropriations will be done in due time,” he said in response to a local resident, Charles Nkundabatware, who claimed that the government owes him Rwf1 million. “Though we are delighted about this development project, the government should look into our matters as soon as possible,” Nkundabatware said. The Mayor of Muhanga District, Yvonne Mutakwasuku, said that apart from the “a few expropriation challenges”, residents of the two neighbouring districts were excited about the project and will benefit a lot from it. “We understand that there are a few expropriation cases that are yet to be sorted out, which we believe responsible ministries are taking into consideration. We hope all should be ready soon,” she promised.

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Nyabarongo power plant to be switched on tomorrow