An African Development Bank mission to Rwanda has praised progress and affirmed continued implementation support toward the timely completion of a multipurpose dam on the country's Muvumba River, the main component of a project for which the Bank is extending €121.5 million in financing.
The delegation, led by Bank Group Director for Water Development and Sanitation, Mtchera Chirwa was in country for discussions with government officials including Mutesi Rusagara, Minister for Resource Mobilization and Public Investment in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning; Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources; Telesphore Ndabamenye, Minister in the Agriculture Development Directorate; Bernadette Arakwiye, Minister of Environment; and Jimmy Gasore, Minister of Infrastructure.
Discussions focused on deepening collaboration and ensuring effective implementation of Bank-funded interventions in Rwanda's water and sanitation sector. Chirwa also met with Aissa Sarr Toure, Bank Group Country Manager for Rwanda, to discuss strengthening portfolio performance and exploring new opportunities for collaboration with the government.
While in country, the Bank team also found time for a site visit to the 39-meter-high dam on the Muvumba River. Designed to store 55 million cubic meters of water, the dam will serve have several functions--irrigation, hydropower generation, fisheries, livestock, and domestic use--servicing Nyagatare, Rwanda's largest and second most populous district.
The Muvumba Multipurpose Water Resources Development Program was approved by the Bank's Board of Directors in October 2020. Currently 36.6% complete, and completion expected by October 2026, the dam will supply 50,000 cubic meters of water daily, irrigate 10,000 hectares, and benefit nearly 800,000 people. The broader program also builds climate resilience through protection of water catchment areas, forest management, and capacity development - particularly for local university students who intern at the dam construction site.
The African Development Bank Group remains the leading development partner for Rwanda's water and sanitation sector, with 42 percent, or $889.5 million, of its country portfolio going to support sectoral policy reforms, infrastructure development, and institutional strengthening.
Other Bank-supported water and sanitation programs include the Rwanda Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Program, the Rwanda Sustainable and Resilient Water and Sanitation Program Sector Budget Support and the first phase of the Rwanda Transformative and Sustainable Water and Sanitation Program.
As of September 2025, the Bank's active portfolio in Rwanda comprises 28 projects with a total value of $2.2 billion.
