Ruzizi 3 Regional Hydropower Project (WB-P178685)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Burundi
  • Congo, Democratic Republic of
  • Rwanda
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • World Bank (WB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
May 7, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Burundi, Republic of Rwanda
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Hydropower
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 760.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 195.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ WB website

Updated in EWS Nov 5, 2024

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

The Project Development Objective is to increase the supply of clean hydropower electricity to Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi by leveraging private capital.

The Ruzizi 3 HPP will have an installed generation capacity of 206 MW. The Ruzizi River forms a natural border between Burundi, DRC and Rwanda, flowing southwards from Lake Kivu into Lake Tanganyika. Ruzizi 3 will be located downstream of the existing Ruzizi 1 (29.2 MW) and Ruzizi 2 (43.8 MW) HPPs, commissioned respectively in 1958 and 1989. Ruzizi 1 HPP is located 3 km downstream of the outlet of Lake Kivu and controls the discharge from Lake Kivu. A fourth hydropower scheme, Ruzizi 4, is also planned in the future.

The environmental and social risk rating has been assessed as High (Category A) at this stage. The Project will follow the OP 4.03 as the project is a PPP and being implemented by the private sector.

The Ruzizi 3 HPP is configured to include the construction of a dam (51 meters high), a 3.8 km long headrace tunnel, a power station (206 MW installed capacity with an expected annual production of 1,140 GWh) and a 7 km long double circuit 220 kV transmission line to a substation at Kamanyola which is adjacent to the common border between the three countries. It includes a compact reservoir (approx. 46 hectares of inundated surface area) to provide regulation capacity and support the daily peak demand of the three countries. The scope of the Project also includes the following ancillary infrastructure: (i) permanent roads and access roads (9.6 km in DRC and 19.5 km in Rwanda), (ii) quarries and Borrow pit sites, and (iii) Spoil Disposal Areas. Associated Facilities that will help dispatching the electricity produced by Ruzizi 3 include:

• Kamanyola 220 kV Substation is situated in DRC and developed by EGL with financial support from KfW. A Feasibility Study, ESIA and RAP were prepared in 2014. These studies will be updated by appraisal to reflect recent developments in the Ruzizi III Project and align with the World Bank’s Environemental and Social Standards.

• Kamanyola-Buhandahada 220 kV Transmission Line. It’s situated in DRC and is being developed by EGL with financial support from the KfW. Pre-Feasibility studies for the 68.5 km line have been completed. However, the studies will need to be updated by appraisal to take into account changes made to the Ruzizi-III HPP, and align with the World Bank’s Environemental and Social Standards.

• Kamanyola - Bujumbura 220 kV Transmission Line is developed in Burundi by REGIDESO with financial support from AfDB and KfW. Burundi line is already under construction and completion of works is expected in 2023.

• Kamanyola – Karongi 220 kV TL is developed by Rwanda Energy Group (REG) with financial support from the EIB. Feasibility studies are underway and ESIA is due by appraisal. • Kamanyola - Kibuye 220 kV TL is developed by Rwanda Energy Group (REG) with financial support from the EIB. A pre-feasibility study and ESIA were prepared in 2014. However, the feasibility study and ESIA will be updated by appraisal and a RAP prepared.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

The Ruzizi 3 HPP is being developed as a public-private partnership (PPP) between the three Contracting States, the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries for Energy (EGL) and a consortium of private developers, Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) of Kenya and Scatec (the Consortium). Ruzizi 3 Energy Limited (REL) is a special purpose vehicle company established to develop the Project. After Financial Close, it is expected that the three Contracting States will each have a stake of 10% in REL whereas the Consortium will own the remaining 70% stake.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Ruzizi III Energy Limited (REL)
Luciano Canale
Director
luciano.canale@scatec.com

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

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ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. Information on how to file a complaint and a complaint request form are available at: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/how-to-file-complaint

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How it works