The Government of Rwanda has signed a public-private partnership agreement with a water management company, Metito, to develop a new bulk water supply plant to serve 40 percent of the capital city Kigali’s potable water requirements.

The 27-year concession agreement will ensure the growing population of Kigali will have access to sufficient water supply for decades to come.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, advised the Government of Rwanda on structuring the project and the public private partnership. With IFC’s support, the Government conducted a competitive bidding process that saw strong interest from international water management companies, with Metito emerging as the winner.

The Government of Rwanda has adopted a number of reforms in the water sector with the aim of achieving universal access to water for its citizens. A 2009 study found that water supply coverage in the Rwandan capital was only 76 percent, with one in four people not having access. The partnership with Metito will support the government’s commitment to have 100 percent water supply coverage in Kigali by 2017.

This is the first water concession of such scale awarded by the Government of Rwanda, and is one of the few bulk water PPPs in Sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa.

Despite a temperate to subtropical climate, with two rainy seasons a year, water supply in Rwanda is still a major issue. Statistics released by Rwanda’s Ministry of Infrastructure shows that less than 50 percent of Rwandans have access to piped water, placing a burden on women and girls who have to spend significant time each day collecting water for their homes.

 Speaking at the signing, Hon. Germaine Kamayirese, Minister of State in Charge of Energy, Water and Sanitation, said:

“Rwanda is undergoing massive economic development, it is imperative that we have the infrastructure that can support the country’s ambitions. The implementation of this project is part of the Vision 2020 plan to keeping up with increased demand for clean water, while improving its quality”.

The plant, which will take approximately two years to construct, will be located in Kanzenze in the South Eastern part of Kigali. On completion the plant will supply 40,000 m3 of treated water every day. It will supplement existing water supplies and meet Kigali’s growing water demands – a city with a population of over one million residents.

Metito will be responsible for the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the treatment plant and forwarding infrastructure including transmission pipelines to three storage reservoirs.

IFC’s transaction advisory was implemented with support from the Infrastructure Development Partnership Fund (DevCo), the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) and the governments of Austria, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.