US Firm Backs $760 Million Congo-Rwanda-Burundi Hydropower Plant

2me63pu[nv)iiyvw5w6]{b00_media_dl_1.png Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — A long-delayed plan to build a hydropower plant on the Ruzizi River between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo received a boost amid US-backed peace talks between the two countries. 

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Anzana Electric Group will team up with Rwanda-registered Ruzizi III Holding Power Co. Ltd. to construct the 206-megawatt Ruzizi III project, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

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The $760 million facility will help “drive regional integration, strengthen energy security and stability, and pave the way for expanded US investment and trade in Africa’s energy future,” Anzana’s Chief Executive Officer Brian Kelly said in the statement. 

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Ruzizi III will join two other plants located on the river that divides Congo’s South Kivu province from Rwanda’s Rusizi District. It could nearly double power capacity for nearby Burundi, increase Rwanda’s by 30% and provide baseload power for eastern Congo, the companies said. 

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All three countries are part of the planned public-private partnership that will build and operate the plant, which could open as early as 2030.

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The project, in planning for more than a decade, has been delayed by ongoing conflict in eastern Congo. Rwanda and Congo are expected to sign a peace accord in Washington on Friday, in a deal overseen by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. A large portion of eastern Congo — including parts of South Kivu — remains under the control of the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group, although Rwanda denies supporting the militants.

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Rubio has offered US investment in the mineral-rich region as an incentive for Rwanda to cease the occupation and to convince Congo to address its neighbor’s security concerns. More than 100 armed groups operate in eastern Congo, including some that threaten the Rwandan government. 

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Massad Boulos, the Trump administration’s senior adviser for Africa, attended the signing ceremony between the companies at the US-Africa Business Summit in Angola. He is leading the US-brokered peace talks.

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Anzana, founded in 2011 and previously called Virunga Power, plans to acquire at least a 10% stake in Ruzizi III Holding by Sept. 15, according to the companies. 

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Ruzizi III Holding — backed by Industrial Promotion Services, the infrastructure and industrial development arm of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development — and the US Embassy in Kinshasa didn’t immediately provide comment when contacted by Bloomberg Wednesday. 

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—With assistance from Mike Cohen and Paul Richardson.

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