Kigali-Muhanga power line launched

In an effort to increase access to electricity for the rural population, on Thursday the Minister of Infrastructure, Vincent Karega, together with Belgium’s Ambassador to Rwanda, Ivo Goemans, officially inaugurated the Kigali – Kiyumba overhead electrical line. The line stretches out over 80 km from Mont Kigali to Muhanga District through Kamonyi District.The construction of Kigali–Kiyumba electrical line was jointly funded by the governments of Rwanda and Belgium to the tune of over Rwf 4.5 billion (Euro5.7m). Amb. Goemans commended the government for having successfully completed the construction of the line on time. “There’s no doubt that access to electricity for the rural population will contribute to the improvement of economic and social well-being. The Government of Belgium will continue supporting the development agenda of Rwanda,” he said. The Minister of Infrastructure told residents of Kamonyi that by the end of the President’s seven-year term, 50 percent of the population will have been connected to electricity. “The construction of this electrical transmission line is aligned to the government’s priority of increasing the national power generation capacity, and expanding the distribution network throughout the country.” “This project is indeed another milestone towards achieving the government targets to have increased capacity to 1,000 MW and access to electricity to 50% of the population by 2017”, Karega said. According to the Mayor of Kamonyi, Jacques Rutsinga, 17 centres and more than 500 households have been connected. Next year, the power and water utility agency, RECO-RWASCO, plans to connect 5,000 homes in Kamonyi District. Ends

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Kigali-Muhanga power line launched