The UAE’s Metito has reached financial close for a planned build-operate-transfer (BOT) water concession in Rwanda.

The Kigali Bulk Water Supply Project will provide 40 million litres a day of potable water to the residents of Rwanda’s capital city. The treated water will be extracted from the south bank of the Nyabarongo River, and will serve domestic, commercial and industrial end users.

The project company developing the scheme is Kigali Water Limited (KWL), a fully owned subsidiary of Metito. KWL will design, build, maintain and operate the treatment plant and then sell potable water to the Water & Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) of Rwanda under a 27-year water purchase agreement.

Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) is the mandated lead arranger for the financing of the scheme, which will be worth up to $60.8m. EAIF and the African Development Bank (AFDB) are covering $40.6m of the capital cost of the project, which will include $38m of senior debt and $2.6m of junior debt, with all loans on 18-year tenors. The balance will be provided by Metito as equity finance.