The construction of cooking gas storage facilities in Kabuga, Rusororo Sector, Gasabo District, has reached 60 per cent completion, according to the Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD), the project’s financier. The storage depots will have a total capacity of 17,000 cubic metres—or 17 million litres—once complete. The update was shared on Wednesday, June 4, during a Senate Committee on Economic Development and Finance session, as part of its oversight of government efforts to improve citizens' access to clean cooking energy. The meeting brought together senators, BRD officials, and representatives of clean cooking solution providers under Energy Private Developers (EPD), an association of private energy companies operating in Rwanda. ALSO READ: Rwanda to invest Rwf38bn in cooking gas storage depot Philbert Dusenge, Coordinator of the Clean Cooking Project under the Energy Access and Quality Improvement Programme at BRD, told senators that the bank had issued a loan to finance the project, which is expected to boost the sustainability of the country’s cooking gas supply. “The availability of sufficient gas stock will help stabilise prices,” Dusenge said. “We will soon have enough gas.” He urged private companies involved in cooking gas to scale up their operations countrywide and take advantage of the upcoming storage infrastructure. ALSO READ: Rwanda to get 17,000-tonne strategic reserve for cooking gas According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, the strategic reserve is designed to cushion the country against gas shortages and meet the rising demand for clean cooking solutions. Jean Claude Uwizeye, Vice-Chairperson of EPD, called the project a “major venture,” noting that it will establish a strategic reserve of 17 million litres of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). He cited projections indicating that Rwanda will require 230 million litres of LPG by 2029. Uwizeye emphasised the need for more funding avenues—especially low-interest loans—to support greater private sector involvement in such large-scale energy infrastructure. In 2023, The New Times got information that the Rwf38 billion project was being implemented by the private sector in partnership with the government. The reserve’s capacity is more than twice the country’s monthly LPG consumption as of 2023, and completion is expected in 2025. Developers say the project will enhance the availability, pricing, and usage of cooking gas nationwide. Currently, 75 per cent of households in Rwanda still rely on firewood as their main cooking fuel. According to the Seventh Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV 7) published by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) on April 16, 18.8 per cent of households use charcoal and only 5.4 per cent use gas. In urban areas, charcoal is used by 51 per cent of households, compared to only 6 per cent in rural areas. Gas usage is significantly higher in urban settings—17 per cent of households—versus just 1 per cent in rural communities, highlighting continued disparities in access to clean cooking energy.
