CIBITOKE, October 28th (ABP) – Burundi Head of State Evariste Ndayishimiye on Friday, October 25, 2024 inaugurated the 20 MW KABU-16 hydroelectric power plant, built since 2013 by the Indian company “Angelique International limited”, at a cost of nearly USD 106.
After a guided tour of the KABU-16 hydroelectric power plant house and the cutting of the ribbon as a symbol of its official opening, the Head of State thanked the Government of India which remained by Burundi even during hard times and which supported the construction of such a hydroelectric dam.
He specified that this is an important step for development, because the project succeeded despite the difficulties encountered. He also indicated that the KABU-16 hydroelectric power plant comes at the right time, at a time when some investors were looking for sufficient electricity to start their industries and factories.
He took the opportunity to make a strong appeal to the people from Cibitoke province, and to other citizens, to use this electricity by undertaking income-generating activities. He winked at REGIDESO for the monitoring and protection of the said dam against the enemies of the country’s development.
To the farmers living near the hydroelectric power plant, he called on them to use the water from this plant to irrigate their crops in order to increase production.
The President of the Republic also declared the existence of iron ore deposits, with a content of 85%, in Bukinanyana district, while indicating that there is a way to invest this electricity in the transformation of these minerals, which could generate another hydroelectric power plant. He made a request to the Representative of the Government of India, for experts in the exploitation and processing of those minerals.
The Head of State urged the population to love labor in the perspective of the national vision of 2040 and 2060, and to join the village planning programme, in order to benefit from the electricity of those dams and develop the arable lands.
It is worth noting that the Representative of the Government of India, in his speech, appreciated the good relations of cooperation between the two countries.