The Sponsors
OWNERS
Ruzizi III Energy Limited (REL) will be a public-private partnership during the construction and operation of the Project.
The shareholders of REL during the initial development period are Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) and SN Power AS (SNP).
IPS is the infrastructure and industrial development arm of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED). Within East Africa, IPS has operations in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Mozambique, and DRC and employs over 10,000 people. Outside the East and Central Africa region, IPS operates in Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, and in Asia in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan.
AKFED is an international development agency dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and building economically sound enterprises in parts of the developing world that lack sufficient foreign direct investment. It also makes bold but calculated investments in situations that are fragile and complex. It is part of the Aga Khan Development Network.
After the financial close, the shareholders of REL will be Ruzizi III HPCL (comprising SNP and IPS) and the Contracting States (comprising Burundi, DRC, and Rwanda), with the private and public parties holding 70% and 30% of the company’s share capital respectively. The CEPGL Organisation for Energie des Pays des Grands Lacs (EGL) acts as the agent for the three Contracting States and the power purchasers from each Contracting State (Offtakers) for the Project. EGL is a specialized CEGPL body responsible for energy cooperation among the Contracting States.
FINANCIAL/FUNDING
The Project equity for construction will be provided by capital that the public and private sector partners will contribute to REL. The Contracting States may use concessional loans and grants from multilateral organizations and agencies for part of the public sector equity. Development funds are provided by private sector investments with some of the public sector costs funded by grants from the European Investment Bank (EIB), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) the German development agency, and the French Development Agency (AFD).
Project debt will be raised by REL under a combination of typical project finance arrangements (non-recourse finance) and on-lent funds from the Contracting States.
Concessional funding for the on-lent funds is expected to be provided by various international financial institutions including amongst others, the African Development Bank (AfDB), European Investment Bank (EIB), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) the German development agency, the French Development Agency (AFD), and the World Bank.
CONSULTANTS /CONTRACTORS
1. Design:
a. Dam, Headrace, and Hydropower facilities: Tractebel Engineering from France
b. Transmission Line: Studio Pietrangeli from Italy
c. Employer’s Facilities: Gasabo 3D from Rwanda
d. Road Development: Gasabo 3D from Rwanda
2. Site Investigations: Several international and regional companies have been engaged in site investigations, which have included borehole investigations, geophysics surveys, bathymetric and topographic surveys, and sediment surveys
3. Environmental and Social Consultants:
i) SOFRECO (2012),
ii) SLR (2021)
4. EGL Engineer: Fichtner Consulting Engineers in association with ISL Ingénierie, and Nodalis Conseil
The engineer-procure-construct (EPC) contractor for the Project is expected to be selected in Q2 2025, following the completion of the main EPC tender.
