Prime Minister Calls for Faster Completion of Delayed Muvumba Dam Project
Nyagatare, Rwanda – Prime Minister Dr. Justin Nsengiyumva has called for the acceleration of the construction of the Muvumba Multipurpose Dam, urging contractors and the Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB) to expedite the project and ensure that Rwandans acquire the necessary expertise to independently undertake similar projects in the future.
The Prime Minister made the remarks on July 11, 2026, during an inspection visit to the project site in Nyagatare District.
The Muvumba Multipurpose Dam project, which began in 2023 and is scheduled for completion in March 2027, has currently reached 61.5 percent completion, falling behind schedule by approximately 6 percent, largely due to heavy rains that disrupted construction activities.
Once completed, the dam is expected to store 55 million cubic meters of water, provide irrigation for 10,000 hectares of farmland, supply 50,000 cubic meters of clean water per day, and generate one megawatt of electricity.
RWB Chief Executive Officer Richard Nyirishema said the Prime Minister emphasized the need to speed up the remaining work and encouraged Rwandan engineers and technicians working alongside the Chinese contractors to learn from the experience.
“He urged us to accelerate the remaining work, and the contractors assured him that they would do so. He also advised us to ensure that Rwandans gain the skills needed so that future projects of this nature can be carried out entirely by local experts,” Nyirishema said.
He added that the dam will also help control flooding by capturing large volumes of water that would otherwise cause damage downstream.
To recover lost time, RWB has increased the number of workers and deployed additional equipment, including more earth-moving trucks.
The first phase of the irrigation component, covering 3,000 hectares, is expected to begin this year after securing the necessary funding, with the first irrigation water anticipated to reach farmers by 2029.
Water treatment and distribution infrastructure is also being developed, and residents are expected to start receiving clean water from the project by 2029.
The project requires the relocation of 5,505 residents living on 797 hectares of land. Compensation has already been paid for 596 hectares, benefiting 2,673 residents, while compensation for more than 2,000 remaining families is expected to be completed soon.
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