Burundi plans increase its electricity generation to 92 MW by 2018 and subsequently to 192 MW by 2025. Currently only 4% of the country’s population has access to electricity and the approval of $100 mn grant from the World Bank will greatly increase the access rate in Burundi. Through the grant, the Burundi government will finance the construction of 2 hydro electric power station as part of the Jiji-Mulembwe project.
The station on Jiji River will be 13.5 meters high producing an 80,000 cubic meter reservoir, while the installation on Mulembwe river will produce a 40,000 cubic meter reservoir. Combined, the HEP stations are expected to yield 48 MW of electricity once completed.
Along with the $100 mn supplied by International Development Association (IDA), the government and other development partners will be contributing to the project which is estimated at a total cost of $270 mn. According to Makhtar Diop, World Bank’s VP for Africa, the project will contribute to peace and stability to the wider Great Lakes Region.
