WB optimistic Rwanda will meet energy targets

The World Bank Country Manager has said Rwanda will meet its energy targets as envisaged in the medium term projections. During an exclusive interview with The New Times last week, Caroline Turk said that with the projects in the pipeline, and the prospects of accessing affordable energy from the region, the country’s projected targets for energy are within reach. Under the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS2), Rwanda plans to increase energy output to at least 563 megawatts which will not only facilitate private sector growth, but also have 70 per cent of the households in the country access power by 2017. “When I look at the medium term strategy that the Ministry of Infrastructure has in place for developing new sources of energy, I see a lot of hope. There is the Rusumo power project that will come online at some stage, the Kivu Watt project and a range of smaller hydro power projects. There is also a possibility of buying cheap energy from the region as well,” Turk said.Speaking in an interview held ahead of the World Bank annual meetings in Washington at the end of the week, Turk said Rwanda needs reliable and predictable development partners to register uninterrupted economic growth over the next three years. “As the biggest donor in the country, my key concern is to make sure that we continue financing the government’s strategy throughout the next three years,” Turk said. Regarding funding development projects in Rwanda, Turk said the World Bank, in a new three-year envelope of financing, will spend approximately $730 million on various projects in Rwanda over the next three years. “If we include regional projects that Rwanda is interested in like some of these power projects that go across the borders, we are looking at committing about $900 million in Rwanda over the next three fiscal years,” she explained. Most of the financing envelope, she said, will be spent on funding projects in five main sectors including energy, urban development, agriculture, social protection, and accountable governance.Click here for the full interview

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WB optimistic Rwanda will meet energy targets