August 18, 2022. Rwanda’s Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente launched the construction of a compressed natural gas (CNG) plant in Bwishyura, Karongi district located on the shore of Lake Kivu. It is estimated to cost USD 530Million to be financed by AfreximBank.
The project will be implemented by Gasmeth, an international company which specializes in funding gas development projects, design technical and operational capability to construct and deliver gas projects in efficient, safe and environmentally sustainable way among others.
In February 2019, Rwanda inked a $400 million deal with Gasmeth Energy to extract and process methane into CNG for cooking, industrial use and vehicles. However, it was delayed by various factors, including the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
The project involves construction of an offshore gas extraction facility along with onshore gas processing and compression plants for CNG. It could serve 300-400,000 households who currently depend on wood fuel for cooking.
The CNG will replace other fuels on the market such as; gasoline, diesel fuel, peat, coal, wood and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
