A new lake is about to be created in Rwanda, located between the Northern, Southern, and Western Provinces. It will cost 320 billion Rwandan francs to complete and is expected to bring many opportunities to Rwandans. Here is everything you might be curious to know about this lake.
The State Minister in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Ambassador Uwihanganye Jean de Dieu, recently announced that “this lake will be twice the size of Lake Muhazi, and reaching it will take only 20 minutes from Nyabugogo.”
The waters of this lake will be used by the Nyabarongo II hydropower plant, which is about to increase Rwanda’s electricity generation capacity, producing 43.5 Megawatts.
The Director General of the Energy Development Corporation Limited (EDCL), Gakuba Felix, in an interview with RADIOV10, said that the lake will cover “an area of 30 square kilometers and will bring many opportunities.”
He added: “First of all, the lake will provide electricity, it will help in flood control, it will support transport and trade through water navigation, and it will also support agriculture, especially by reducing the flooding that usually occurs in the Nyabarongo marshland.”
This official also noted that the lake could be used in the future to provide clean water for consumption in Rwanda.
He said that the area where the lake will be located is currently inhabited, with people owning property there, which has made it necessary to relocate them.
“Some residents have already been compensated and relocated to new settlements. They were given proper compensation. These were the people who needed to be relocated urgently when the project began at the dam construction site, since they could not wait for the resettlement process.”
He further said: “There are also residents who will be directly affected by the lake itself (reservoir). These residents are currently having their properties inventoried, and their way of life is being studied so that they can be properly resettled and provided with all necessary facilities, including schools, health centers, and clean water.”
He said “We are doing this quickly because they must be resettled before the lake is filled with water.”
He also mentioned that apart from resettling residents, the project will affect other activities such as mining.
“But we always try to ensure that the impacts are fewer compared to the benefits the project will bring. There are small areas that will be affected by the dam, but we are working together with the Rwanda Mining Board to ensure that no licensed mineral miners are unfairly affected by this dam project.”
The EDCL Director General, Gakuba Felix, said that although it will take only a few minutes to reach the lake from Nyabugogo, its dam wall is being built between Kamonyi District (Ngamba Sector) and Gakenke District (Muhondo Sector).
On the financial aspect, Gakuba stated: “Excluding the money allocated for resettling people, the lake is expected to cost around 320 billion Rwandan francs.”
In addition to this amount for the dam construction, 70 billion Rwandan francs will be used for the resettlement of residents.
As for its water capacity, the lake will hold 806 million cubic meters, with its maximum depth reaching 59 meters at its deepest point.
RADIOTV10
