“I am the director Amahoro Energy (formerly SOGEMR) that is scheduled to produce 400 KW at Musarara in Musanze District. This was the first project to be completed. I soon hope to establish two other projects which will provide a total of around 20MW,” he said.
Previously, Dr. King served as a paediatrician. Motivated by the acute energy problems that Shyira hospital was facing, he changed course and moved into Civil Engineering studied. He now holds a PhD in that discipline from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the prestigious centre for technological innovation.
Today, despite being involved in electricity generation as Director of Amahoro Energy, Dr. King also continues to teach Paediatrics to the new young doctors at the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of Rwanda (NUR). He devotes part of his time training practicing doctors at Ruhengeri hospital. His wife, doctor as well, also works full time.
Dr. King said the electricity is generated from River Musarara. “The next process was the diversion water, to channel the flow for 100m, in our case 1.5 km, and then return the water into the same river. The process produces a fall which is developed by a pipe,” explained King.
The project is 8km from the hospital, meaning the power current moves of 8Km and delivered to hospital in form of electricity. Dr. King’s project has produced 400 KW, with hopes for 20MW from two more dams generating over 5MW and 10MW, respectively. The power is delivered to EWSA distribution lines for local and national consumption.
EWSA permitted Dr. King to build a power line of medium voltage and provided funding. The electricity was eventually connected to the national grid. To produce 400KW, it cost US$2 million (approx Rwf 1billion). But there was also a grant from the Government of Netherlands through GTZ, German’s International Cooperation agency.
Asked if the company Amahoro Energy has gained from supplying energy to EWSA, Dr. King says that the project is depending on the investment. There has been no financial gain so far. He hopes that for the longer term, the returns will be huge.
“… We would like to reinvest in other projects to produce more energy. We want to combine with bio-fuel,” he said. During the exchange session at the Energy Forum, Dr King was pushed farther on the on profitability of such hydroelectric projects. He revealed that the rate of return of the project is about 25% of invested capital.
“This is the 25% profit project that we expect. If you have less, we must review the costs,” he said.
Important to remember is that while studying medicine at Harvard University, Dr. King was aware of the energy problem at Shyira hospital where he was scheduled to work when he came to Rwanda. He saw it fit to add Civil Engineering to solve these problems. And that is what he did when he arrived in Rwanda, with the encouragement of his family, by initiating hydroelectric projects that continue to generate electricity.
Favourable levels of rainfall in the country throughout the year favours such projects, according to Dr. King. But he acknowledged that he often faces slow and difficult land expropriation process. As for the business environment, to him, it remains ultimately favourable to investors.
“I’ve never paid a bribe. Nobody has asked me. There is no corruption here. Labour is high quality, including masons. It has vast opportunities for generating energy from water resources. Rwanda is a beautiful country where you have to invest,” he encouraged investors.