After months of speculation on its ability to implement the Kivuwatt power facility and plant construction for the extraction of methane gas, ContourGlobal secured investment guarantee to wind up the project.

Government is now optimistic that the guarantee from Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) will solve the company’s financial struggles and speed up the implementation of its Rwf142m methane project in Lake Kivu

The government had placed concerns over the capability of the company to upscale the completion of the gas extraction and production facility which is targeted to produce 25 MW. The project is behind schedule.

"Am sure now they are going to go on with the project, I know they are finalising very soon,” the State Minister for Energy, Eng, Coletha Ruhamya said yesterday.

The completion of the project will bring in the first largest investment venture of the methane gas extraction in Lake Kivu which is hazardous and poses a great threat if not extracted, she said.

The president and chief executive officer ContourGlobal Joseph C. Brandt said that the MIGA issuance of the project is an important milestone for Kivuwatt project, which is left with one year to be fully operational

"We are grateful to MIGA for their dedication and support and the leadership they have shown in committing to the project at this critical stage.”

On the same development MIGA’s Executive Vice President Izumi Kobayashi said that Rwanda’s economic potential is enormous but it has been hindered by power infrastructure

"We are pleased that we were able to facilitate this investment into a complex renewable project that will help Rwanda achieve one of its key development objectives,” he said

Kivuwatt is struggling to finalise a financing project with the FMO, the African Development Bank, Dutch development and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund.

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