The director gIt isnIt isral de la Regideso recently announced the postponement of the commissioning of the Jiji and Mulembwe hydroelectric dams (49.5 MW) under construction for 3 years. Except that this postponement is not the first and will probably not be the last. What is really happening?
The Jiji hydroelectric power station will be commissioned no later than December 30, 2024 and the Mulembwe Hydroelectric Power Plant will be commissioned no later than March 30, 2025, said Dr Ir Jean Albert Manigomba, Director General of Regideso, after a visit to the two dams under construction, February 13, 2024.
The project to construct the Jiji (32.5 MW) and Mulembwe (17 MW) hydroelectric dams is part of a vast project by the government of Burundi to construct hydroelectric dams (Ruzibazi, Kabu16, Rusumo falls, etc.), in order to increase the production of electricity and thus boost the national economy.
Launched in December 2019 by the former second vice-president Dr Joseph Butore, the construction works of these dams on the Jiji and Mulembwe rivers, located in the Songa commune of the Bururi province, were initially scheduled to last 42 months and end in December 2023. This mega project is co-financed to the tune of 270.40 million USD by the European Union (49%), the World Bank (37%), the African Bank of Development (8%) and the government of Burundi (6%).
The construction of the dams is carried out by the group of companies CMC (Italian) and ORASCOM (Egyptian), the Indian company KEC International for the transmission lines and the French company VINCI for the associated positions.
A postponement which is not its first
This postponement of at least one year for the end of construction work on the two dams is not the first. In January 2023, a large delegation of donor representatives (WB, EU and ADB) and the Burundian authorities, led by the minister in charge of energy, traveled to almost all the sites where the activities take place. Given the progress of the work, the construction group for these infrastructures had estimated the commissioning of the Jiji dam at May 2023. For Mulembwe, the work was not at all advanced.
Among the challenges put forward, construction companies cited the fuel shortage that has hit the country in recent years. They also added landslides during rainy periods making the action areas difficult to pass.
Ir Ibrahim Uwizeye, minister in charge of energy, had accused the conflict between Russia-Ukraine and Covid-19 as the root of all evil. The latter would have disrupted the supply of materials, thus impacting the progress of the work and would also have influenced the variation in material prices. The minister also took the opportunity to ask donors for additional funding to complete the project. Due: on January 10, 2024, the IDA Board of Directors approved a grant of 50 millions of USD in favor of Burundi for additional financing of these hydroelectric plants.
However, in his latest outing, the general director of Regideso was pleased that the material used for the construction of these dams is of quality. News that should reassure us.
Still a long way to go
Burundi still has a way to go to reduce the energy deficit. In 2020, the electrification rate stood at around 12 %. Current energy production is around 100 MW. This at a time when the 2018-2027 National Development Plan predicts that Burundi will need 400 MW to run its industry and around 412 MW to exploit its mineral wealth in 2027.
According to forecasts included in the sectoral strategy for implementing the PND of the ministry in charge of energy, the total installed power will be at least 287,141 MW during this period. THE Energy deficit will therefore be 500 MW. It will therefore be necessary to make a lot of effort to achieve Burundi emerging in 2040 and developed in 2060 with this rate.
With this report, the observation is that quite a few works remain to be done. Of course, the government is concerned about increasing energy production, but the best would also be to speed up the work and avoid the cases of certain dams like Kabu16 under construction since 2017 or even that of Mpanda which is collapsed without providing any crumb of current, and engulfing 54 billion Fbu.
It would also be urgent to address the problem of the obsolescence of the electricity network. Despite the commissioning of the Ruzibazi and Rusumo Falls dams, the untimely power cuts observed in recent days are paralyzing economic activities.
Did you find this article useful?
2024-03-04 10:21:28