Burundi has signed a $1.4 billion public-private partnership with Weza Power, a subsidiary of the American-backed Anzana Electric Group, in what United States officials have described as the largest investment in the country’s history.
The 25-year agreement will expand and modernise the electricity distribution network, connecting more than 1.2 million households and businesses and providing first-time or improved power access to an estimated eight million people by 2030.
The investment is equal to about 42 percent of Burundi’s estimated $3.36 billion economy, illustrating its potential significance for a country of roughly 14 million people.
Weza Power will construct or rehabilitate about 52,000 kilometres of distribution lines and operate the network across approximately half of Burundi.
The state-owned utility, REGIDESO, will continue operating the national transmission system and distributing electricity in the other half.
The project is expected to create more than 2,000 direct jobs and over 30,000 indirect jobs in construction, transport, maintenance, manufacturing and related industries.
International data place Burundi’s electricity-access rate at about 20 percent, while government and project estimates put grid access at between 12 and 15 percent.
The Weza Power concession aims to lift access above 50 percent by 2030, while the country’s broader National Energy Compact targets 70 percent.
President Évariste Ndayishimiye described electricity as “the foundation of Burundi’s economic transformation” and a central pillar of its ambition to become an emerging economy by 2040 and a developed country by 2060.
“This partnership will expand opportunities for our people, strengthen our industries, and create conditions for investment, jobs and lasting prosperity,” he said.
Burundi has about 183 megawatts of installed generating capacity, but its limited transmission and distribution infrastructure prevents electricity from reaching many homes, farms, mines and factories.
Minister of Mineral Resources, Energy, Industry, Trade and Tourism Dr Hassan Kibeya said reliable power would support industrial growth, local processing of critical minerals and wider economic development.
The project will combine private investment with concessional financing from institutions including the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, African Development Bank, US International Development Finance Corporation and British International Investment.
Its developers say the structure is designed to mobilise the money without adding to Burundi’s public debt.
Anzana has operated in Burundi since 2018 through Songa Energy, which has one operational hydropower plant and another under construction.
For a country where about 85 percent of employment remains concentrated in agriculture, reliable electricity could allow more coffee, minerals and agricultural products to be processed locally instead of leaving the country largely in raw form.
It could also open the door to further American investment and strengthen supply chains in mining and agro-processing.
