Mauritius PM, Rwandan counterpart to inaugurate 5 MW hydroelectric plant

 Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and his Rwandan counterpart, Dr Edouard Ngirente will jointly inaugurate a first-of-its-kind 5 MW hydroelectric plant on Sunday that will help reduce carbon emissions of the East African nation.

Omnihydro plant is 98.1 per cent owned by a Mauritius-based company Omnicane, built by its subsidiary Omnihydro (Rwanda) Ltd. This plant in Rwanda has become operational and is named Mushishito-Rukarara Hydroelectric Plant, LeMatinal newspaper reported.

This is a clean and renewable bio-energy production project in sync with the energy transition goals of Rwanda as discussed at the 26th Commonwealth Heads of State Summit, the report added. It is in line with the Mauritian government's ambition to achieve 60 per cent renewable energy production by 2030.

"We have no doubt that the experience acquired together will be a plus in the future to position Mauritius in pole position for similar projects, and this in the perspective of the energy transition and the preference given to clean and renewable energy production for the economic, social and technological development of the continent thanks to Mauritian know-how and financing," said Jacques d'Unienville, CEO of Omnicane, already in Rwanda.

"For MCB, financing projects like this is an important step in its sustainable development programme, entitled 'Success Beyond Numbers'," said Xavier Bathfield, Head of Mauritian and Regional Corporates at MCB.

The plant with a production capacity of 5 MW, was launched in 2015 and whose construction started in 2017, benefits from the financial support of the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB). Rwandan company Energy Utility Corporation Ltd (EUCL) will operate the plant for 25 years.

The project which was launched in 2015, completed Phase 1 in 2019. Phase 2 is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

This 5MW production is estimated to reduce carbon emissions by about 14,500 metric tons per year, comparable to planting 1,000 hectares of trees per year. It is expected to power, on average, 175,000 households in Rwanda.

According to the LeMatinal, this 5 MW production will be connected to Rwanda's national grid. Rwanda's energy mix is made up of 55 per cent renewable energy sources, of which 78 per cent is hydro. In total, the country has 37 hydropower plants connected to its national grid.

This green strategy was developed by Omnihydro and incorporated in Rwanda in 2010, the report added.