The government has signed a $371 million (approximately Rwf241 billion) energy agreement with Indian company to generate 100 megawatts of peat energy, from a plant to be set up in the Eastern Province.The Indian multi-million firm, Punj Lloyd, is known for providing integrated design, engineering, procurement, construction and project management services in the energy and infrastructure sectors.The agreement to kick-start the project was signed yesterday between the Minister of State in Charge of Energy and Water, Eng. Emma Francoise Isumbingabo, and Atul Punj, the chairman of Punj Lloyd and witnessed by Clare Akamanzi, the Acting CEO of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).Under the deal, Punj Lloyd will construct, finance and operate the peat power plant in North Akanyaru, in Bugesera District, while government provided the investor with land on which the facility will be set up."Government is continuously working hard to close the energy gap and achieve the 2017 energy target of 563MW on the national grid, and this will be realised through various sources, peat being one of them,” said Isumbingabo shortly after signing the agreement."Negotiations for this deal started two years back and we are very happy to reach the conclusion and if everything goes according to plan, we will have 100MW by the year 2017 from this very plant.”Gaining momentum  The minister explained that the development of peat sector in Rwanda is gaining momentum, as the country moves to generate 215MW of peat energy by 2017, but there are prospects to produce up to 700MW."Last year, we signed another 100MW peat energy pact with Hakan Mining and Generation Industry and Trade Inc, a Turkish firm, in addition to the 15MW we are currently developing.”Punj Lloyd plans to develop the project within a period of three to four years, according to the company’s executives. "Rwanda provides a conducive environment for investment. We are very glad to invest in this beautiful country. I have had the opportunity to meet President Paul Kagame at the World Economic Forum in Davos, China and London and I give credit to his entire team who have really followed up on this deal to reach a conclusion in a reasonable and quick manner,” said Lloyd. "We are committed to move on and implement this project. We hope to establish ourselves in Rwanda as a company that comes and delivers on promises.”He stated that his organisation is looking forward to employ a large labour-force of Rwandans in the project.Punj Lloyd has its operations spread out in 24 countries across the Middle East, Africa, the Caspian, Asia Pacific and South Asia. In Africa they have presence in Mozambique, Kenya and now Rwanda.The firm provides energy services in oil and gas process, civil infrastructure, and thermal power.Akamanzi said that Punj Lloyd is a good partner and has a lot of experience and capability to implement the production of peat energy in Rwanda."We are pleased to have such a reputable company like this invest in Rwanda. They are going to be part of the transformation process we want to see in the next five years,” she said after the signing ceremony.She explained that 80 per cent of the deals they sign at RDB within one year go to preparatory processes like putting all the requirements together, but that after one year, 40 to 50 per cent of the projects become operational. "After three years, on average 90 per cent of the projects we register at RDB become operational. We hope this agreement will be implemented within the agreed period of time,” she said.  The government unveiled a Rwf3 trillion ($4.7bn)road map for energy production and accessibility over the next five years.The plan is to progressively tap 215MW from peat, 310MW from geothermal, 320MW from hydro power, and 300MW from methane gas, among others.At the moment the country produces 110.8MW, equivalent to 16 per cent in terms of domestic accessibility.  With 1, 000MW, accessibility could reach 70 per cent. Energy has been singled out as one of the key enablers in the implementation of EDPRS 2,which seeks to double the country’s GDP per capita from the current $644 to $1240 by 2017.