BUJUMBURA, Burundi, July 29 (Xinhua) -- China has always supported Burundi in many sectors, and is a contributor to the country's socio-economic development, especially in terms of energy, a senior Burundian official has said.
Burundi highly values China's support for its energy sector and anticipates more cooperation with China in this area, Selemani Khamissi, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Hydraulics, Energy and Mines, told Xinhua in a recent interview.
In September 2022, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye and Chinese Ambassador to Burundi Zhao Jiangping inaugurated the Ruzibazi hydropower plant in southwestern Bujumbura province, 43 km south of the commercial capital of Bujumbura. The dam was constructed with Chinese financial and technical assistance.
"China via the Sinohydro Construction Company can be considered as a model in terms of the construction of hydropower plants," Khamissi said, hailing the cooperation as benefitting Burundi's socio-economic life, not least the energy sector.
Construction of the hydropower station took place as scheduled, and was completed ahead of the four-year deadline in 2022, Khamissi said.
Burundian authorities believe that the Ruzibazi hydropower station possesses a large proportion of the total installed capacity in Burundi and is very important to the country's future development.
The Ruzibazi hydropower station is by far the largest China-aided project in Burundi, according to Burundian officials. Besides the Ruzibazi project, China also signed an agreement to provide technical assistance for the operation of three hydropower plants namely Mugere, Ruvyironza and Gikonge, and agreed to train Burundian technicians.
"China has always been with us to give support. We are continuing to hold discussions and mobilize funding because there are still potential sites available, and we will continue to seek the support from China," he said.
"We hope that China will always remain alongside Burundi, especially in the energy sector," Khamissi said.
Bilateral cooperation dates back to 1963, when Burundi and China established diplomatic relations, and was further deepened in 2000 through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Over the past decades, the two partners have made substantial progress in their cooperation in such areas as energy, infrastructure, agriculture and health. ■