Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Nov - Dec Vol. 9 No.6 | Page 7

NEWS in brief

Around Africa

and administrative shortcomings and ensure accountability
at the utility regulator.
Wasac chief executive James Sano said the development
will help avoid shortcomings and cases of mismanagement
that were highlighted in the 2012/13 Auditor-General’s
report that faulted the defunct Energy Sanitation and
Water Authority (EWSA) for various financial impropriety
issues.
Kanji-dam

partner Nigeria’s Mainstream Energy Solutions has agreed
to its plan to rehabilitate Kainji and Jebba power plants,
with a total installed capacity of 1.3 GW.
The next step for RusHydro International AG, the company
confirmed in a statement, will be to assist Mainstream
Energy Solutions to prepare tender documentation and
commence tender procedures for the supply of equipment,
construction, and assembly work.

Sano was speaking at a media conference in Kigali recently.
In his 2013/2014 report tabled before Parliament in
May, Auditor-General Obadiah Biraro gave the now
defunct EWSA a ‘disclaimer opinion’ because of gross
mismanagement as discovered during the auditing exercise.
EWSA was in July split under the Prime Minister’s orders which also outlined modalities of transfer of responsibilities
and property of the public institution to corporations.
The two corporations that emerged from the split are

RusHydro International is also responsible for the
installation and construction works and consulting on
operation and maintenance of the plants in partnership
with Institute Hydroproject (RusHydro Group), Pöyry
and Mott MacDonald.
Increasing hydropower capacity
In 2013, RusHydro and Mainstream Energy signed a fiveyear cooperation agreement to modernize the Kainji and
Jebba hydropower plants in Nigeria at a cost of N72.32
billion (US$452 million).
The concession conditions, Mainstream Energy said,
provide for rehabilitation and modernization of the power
plants and bringing their capacity back to the design level.
The two plants are located on the River Niger and have
installed capacity of 750 MW and 578 MW, respectively.
Currently available capacity of the plants is substantially
below their installed capacity.
In August 2013, Guaranty Trust Bank and multilateral
financial institution Africa Finance Corporation provided
a US$170 million (N27.2 billion) facility to Mainstream
Energy Solutions for the acquisition of Kainji Power
station, o