The World Bank on Tuesday approved 340 million U.S. dollars for the Regional Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project which aims to benefit 62 million people in Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania.

This project is the first operation under the World Bank Group Great Lakes Regional Initiative inaugurated by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim during his historic joint visit with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in May, the Washington-based agency said in a statement.

The project's eventual 80 megawatt generation capacity will boost reliable power supply to the electricity grids of Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania, reduce electricity costs, promote renewable power, spur job-led economic development and pave the way for more dynamic regional cooperation, peace and stability among the countries of the Nile Equatorial Lakes sub-region in east Africa, the statement said. "The Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project takes a regional approach to tackling Sub-Saharan Africa's power crisis, providing low-cost, clean, renewable energy to people in Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania," Jamal Saghir, World Bank Director for Sustainable Development in the Africa Region, said.

"The new power plant signals the Bank's commitment to keeping the lights on across the African continent, necessary for achieving growth, ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity in the region," he added.

Lack of access to electricity is a defining constraint in the region. Only 4 percent of the population in Burundi has access to electricity, and corresponding numbers for Rwanda and Tanzania are 13 percent and 15 percent respectively. Endi

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