The construction works for Kigali faecal sludge treatment plant in Masaka Sector, Kicukiro District, are at 70 per cent, according to the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Yusuf Murangwa.

He provided the update on Wednesday, February 5, while presenting the 2024/2025 budget revision proposal to Parliament.

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The facility is expected to improve water quality and reduce wastewaters (effluents) flowing into Lake Victoria through regional river systems, according to Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC). Construction will be completed by the end of 2025.

The waste treatment plant will have the capacity for 500 cubic metres (m³) of faecal sludge per day, mainly according to nature-based and energy-efficient treatment processes, WASAC indicated.

It is an integral part of the regional-wide Lake Victoria Basin Integrated Water Resources Management Programme, which is under the East African Community's Lake Victoria Basin Commission.

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Information from the programme shows that the plant is expected to cost an estimated €8.1 million (approx. Rwf12 billion).

The Lake Victoria Basin Commission secured a €7.5 million grant from both German government through German investment and development bank KfW and the European Union for the project. The programme added that the remaining grant amount - totalling €0.6 million - would be used for running the plant in its initial operation stage.

In June 2022, WASAC signed an agreement with Lake Victoria Basin Commission to construct the plant.

According to WASAC, the project is also in line with the national integrated water supply and sanitation master plans that WASAC completed in May 2022.

The master plan is aligned with Rwanda's Vision 2050 and intends to ensure sustainable water supply and sanitation services to the population, it stated.