East African energy projects 'to be fast-tracked'

3 November 2009

A meeting of energy ministers from five east African countries concluded with an agreement to prioritise power projects.

East African Community (EAC) sector representatives from Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda met this weekend at the sixth EAC-Energy conference.

Rwanda's minister Albert Butare was quoted by Rwandan daily the New Times as saying: "We have agreed to accelerate regional power projects as it was critical and urgent."

He went on to explain that a number of exciting prospects had been discussed, such as the possibility of exploiting the methane gas in Kivu.

"We all came to the conclusion that we share expertise in different areas," Mr Butare commented.

Exploring the petroleum reserves in Rwanda and Burundi was another option on the table during the meeting.

Burundian minister of energy and mines Dr Samuel Ndayiragije commented that concretising facts would be a priority area during the next year.

One of the EAC's ongoing energy goals is a Power Interconnectivity Project intended to facilitate "cross-border flow" of electricity into border towns. <br/>

Category: Energy