Burundi is experiencing an unprecedented energy deficit. The electricity supply is around 100 MW. About 15% of the population have access to electricity. To meet this challenge, the government has undertaken a vast dam construction project. Some limp and others are bitter failures.

The construction of the Mpanda, Kabu-16, Ruzibazi, Jiji-Mulembwe, Rusumo Falls hydroelectric dams is a vast project undertaken by the Burundian government to deal with the energy deficit which is bringing its development to its knees.

About 15% of the Burundian population have access to electricity, according to Léonidas Sindayigaya, spokesperson for the ministry in charge of energy during the public broadcast of spokespersons of the ministries and the government held in the province of Cibitoke. Monday, April 24, 2023. The government’s goal is to reach 30% by 2030, he continues.

Will Burundi be able to achieve these goals? If these 15% of the population have access to electricity, they still face untimely power cuts linked, according to the ministry in charge of energy, to the dilapidation of the network. Without ever mentioning the difficulties experienced by manufacturers, small businesses using electricity are disrupted. This causes huge losses for young entrepreneurs.

Where are we with the construction of hydroelectric dams?

Built since 2019, the Ruzibazi dam (15 MW) was commissioned in early July 2022. 5 MW of this plant is injected into the electricity network in the south of the country and the remaining 10 MW is already injected into the Bujumbura network, according to Regideso.

Power from the Rusumo Falls Regional Power Station under construction on the Akagera River may be available shortly. This plant shared by three countries (Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania) will have a capacity of 80 MW including 26.5 MW for Burundi. Regideso had announced the first tests for the commissioning of the Muyinga-Gitega line on July 7, 2022. It planned the effective commissioning of this line for the month of December 2022.

The deadlines for the commissioning of the Jiji-Mulembwe mega project (49.5 MW) under construction in Songa commune of Bururi province will not be respected. Initially scheduled for October 2023, the end of the works will be delayed. The commissioning of the first power plant (Jiji) is scheduled for May 2024. The CMC and ORASCOM Group of Companies responsible for the construction of the two dams mention the fuel shortage which appeared during the year 2022, the vagaries of the weather , landslides (construction area of ​​the two dams difficult to pass through during rainy periods) as the main reasons behind the delays.

In addition, Ir Ibrahim Uwizeye, Minister in charge of Energy adds that Covid-19 and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict have negatively impacted the progress of the work. Much of the material used would come from Ukraine. What caused the prices of materials to increase exponentially?

Bitter failures for certain dams?

On the other side, construction work on the Kabu 16 hydroelectric dam (20 MW) is stalling. Under construction since 2017, work is currently suspended due to lack of funding and equipment.

In addition, the construction of the Mpanda hydroelectric dam which swallowed up 54 billion FBu is a dead project. The infrastructure collapsed even before the work was completed.

Given its energy needs, there is still a long way to go for Burundi in terms of developing the industrial sector, key to economic recovery. Burundi’s hydroelectric potential has been assessed at 1,700 MW, of which approximately 300 MW is technically and economically exploitable. The National Development Plan 2018-2027 foresees that Burundi will need at least 400 MW for its industrialization and 412 MW for the mining sector in 2027.

The country intends to bet on nuclear energy to increase its energy capacity. Moreover, on March 23, 2023, the Minister in charge of Foreign Affairs of Burundi traveled to Russia to meet his Russian counterpart. The strengthening of cooperation between the two countries was at the rendezvous.