Rwanda’s Muvumba multipurpose dam project is set to get an additional Rwf80 billion in financing from the African Development Bank Group to fast-track its implementation. The project located in Nyagatare District is set to boost irrigation, expand energy generation, strengthen water access, support livelihoods, and enhance food security while building climate resilience The new funding, approved by the bank’s board of directors on Thursday, April 16, will support the construction of a climate-resilient irrigation system drawing from the Muvumba dam reservoir, covering more than 3,000 hectares of farmland. ALSO READ: Major multipurpose dams set to ease water shortages by 2030 Under the Muvumba Multipurpose Water Resources Development Program, the additional financing comprises a €17.66 million loan from the African Development Fund – the Bank Group’s concessional arm – and a €27.74 million loan from the African Development Bank. Project scale and progress The Bank pointed out that its contribution to the project has now risen to €166.9 million of a total programme value of €176 million, indicating that the remainder will be provided by the government of Rwanda. In October 2020, the African Development Bank approved a loan of €121.50 million. Construction of the dam and hydropower plant, the programme’s main component, began in October 2023. By end March 2026, it was more than 50 per cent complete. “This programme is one of the flagship projects for the Government of Rwanda supporting its agenda around the food-energy-water nexus whereby the Muvumba dam will develop water resources for multiple uses including power generation, water for people, and food security and ecotourism,” said Mtchera Chirwa, AfDB's Director for Water Development and Sanitation Department. ALSO READ: PHOTOS: Muvumba multipurpose dam under construction Driving food security and livelihoods The programme is expected to contribute to increased agricultural productivity and enhanced food and nutrition security of the targeted beneficiaries in the programme area, extending food security to 26,012 people and creating more than 4,700 direct jobs, 60 per cent of them for youth. The programme aligns with the country’s Vision 2050 strategy and its Second National Strategy for Transformation 2024-2029. It is also aligned with the bank’s Ten-Year Strategy for 2024-2033. Rwanda Water Resources Board, in partnership with the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board, will implement the programme through 2030. The 39-metre-high dam currently under construction on Muvumba River is designed to store 55 million cubic metres of water and will support irrigation, hydropower generation, fisheries, livestock watering, and domestic water supply. Designed to store 55 million cubic meters of water, the dam will serve have several functions—irrigation, hydropower generation, fisheries, livestock, and domestic use—servicing Nyagatare, Rwanda's largest and second most populous district. Muvumba Multipurpose Water Resources Development Program will supply 50,000 cubic meters of water daily, irrigate 10,000 hectares, and benefit nearly 800,000 people. The broader program also builds climate resilience through protection of water catchment areas, forest management, and capacity development – particularly for local university students who intern at the dam construction site. In October 2025, an African Development Bank mission delegation to Rwanda commended the progress made in the implementation of the multipurpose dam and affirmed continued support toward its timely completion.
