Rwanda has secured €45.4 million in additional financing to build a climate-resilient irrigation system across 3,073 hectares of agricultural land in the country’s drought-prone Eastern Province, the African Development Bank Group announced.
The funding expands the Muvumba Multipurpose Water Resources Development Program, Rwanda’s signature initiative linking water supply, food production, hydropower and ecotourism in the Eastern Province.
The financing combines a €17.66 million concessional loan from the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s low-interest lending arm for lower-income economies, and a €27.74 million loan from the African Development Bank.
The approval brings the Bank Group’s total contribution to the program to €166.9 million, out of an overall program value of €176 million, with the Government of Rwanda covering the remainder, the AfDB said in an April 16 statement.
“This program is one of the flagship projects for the Government of Rwanda supporting its agenda around the food-energy-water nexus whereby the Muvumba dam will develop water resources for multiple uses including power generation, water for people, and food security and ecotourism,” said Mtchera Chirwa, the Bank’s Director for Water Development and Sanitation Department.
Agriculture contributes around 30% to Rwanda’s national GDP and provides livelihoods for most of the population.
The Eastern Province faces heavy dependence on rain-fed farming, limited irrigation infrastructure and increasing vulnerability to prolonged droughts, which limit productivity and expose farming households to food insecurity and income instability.
The expanded program is projected to extend food security to 26,012 people and create more than 4,700 direct jobs, with 60% of those positions reserved for youth.
The Muvumba program received its initial financing of €121.50 million from the African Development Bank in October 2020. Construction of the dam and hydropower plant, the program’s main component, began in October 2023 and had passed the 50% completion mark by end of March 2026.
Once finished, the dam will supply 50,000 cubic meters of water daily, irrigate 10,000 hectares and benefit nearly 800,000 people.
The program sits within Rwanda’s Vision 2050 strategy and its Second National Strategy for Transformation 2024-2029, placing the Muvumba investment at the center of the country’s long-term development planning.
