The one-year warranty period of the Ruzibazi Hydropower Station in Burundi, designed and constructed by Power Construction Corporation of China (POWERCHINA), recently came to an end. Over the past year, the power station has generated a cumulative total of 100 million kwh, far exceeding the designed annual average power generation capacity of 85 million kwh.
An aerial photo shows an aerial of the China-aided Ruzibazi Hydropower Station Project in Burundi. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
The Ruzibazi Hydropower Station is China's largest aid project in Burundi, and is also a symbol of friendly relations between the two nations. Located in the lower reaches of the Ruzibazi River in southern Bujumbura, capital of Burundi, the power station has an installed capacity of 15,000 kilowatts. The project was undertaken by Sinohydro Bureau 14 Co., Ltd. as a general contractor, designed by Chengdu Engineering Corporation Limited, supervised by Zhongnan Engineering Corporation Limited; and China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute is responsible for its acceptance work.
The construction of the Ruzibazi Hydropower Project started on Oct 15, 2018, and the final unit completed trial operation in July 2022. All three units of the power station were connected to the grid for power generation in the same month, more than three months ahead of the agreed-upon project schedule.
During the project construction process, POWERCHINA adopted a localized management approach, recruiting local employees and training over 1,200 technical workers, thereby creating a large number of jobs for local people.
POWERCHINA has also carried out activities in the local community, such as renovating primary schools, installing solar streetlights, building pools, and repairing roads, demonstrating the responsibility of Chinese companies.
The Ruzibazi Hydropower Station is currently the most advanced hydropower station in Burundi with the largest monthly power generation. Since all units were put into operation, the power station has increased Burundi's total electricity generation by nearly one-third, meeting the electricity demand of the city of Bujumbura.
As of Aug 17, 2023, the cumulative power generation of the power station reached 109,625,644 kilowatt-hours, providing stable electricity supply for the country's economic development.
(Executive editor: Xie Yunxiao)
