To ensure a stable power supply to Rwanda's new airport in Bugesera district, it will be connected directly to the regional Rusumo hydroelectric power plant, scheduled to be operational by the beginning of 2024.
The Minister of State at the Ministry of Infrastructure, Patricie Uwase, revealed the plans earlier this week to senators when she outlined the operational and green imperatives built into the airport’s design.
The power plant is expected to supply 80Mw which will be shared by Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi. It will generate power using water from the Akagera River that straddles the three countries.
The $340-million project is one of the investment programmes under the Nile Basin Initiative, with a mandate to facilitate jointly agreed transformative regional transboundary cooperative projects, or in-country projects with regional impact, related to the common use of the Nile Basin water resources.
Rwanda is to get 27Mw of electricity to be supplied to its national grid.
She said there were also plans to make the airport green.
"So many things will be done to make the airport green. First, it will use renewable energy from the new Rusumo hydroelectric power plant. There will also be an intelligent system in terms of electricity use at the airport.
“We have to install equipment that efficiently uses electricity. This means, for example, if there is equipment that uses 15 megawatts, it can be replaced by those consuming two megawatts. This will ensure energy efficiency," she explained.
Uwase said the lights at the airport would be sensitive so that they switched off themselves when there were no people.
The greening of the airport will showcase the government’s commitment to the implementation of the Green Building Minimum Compliance System, which is part of Rwanda's National Building Code.
The airport greening comprises energy saving, water conservation, waste management and material efficiency, indoor environmental quality and green transportation within the airport among others.
