About 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the Rusizi it crosses an enormous expanse of marshes that connect to the Mutimbuzi River basin.

[6] In May 2021 the river threatened to break the dam that protects the infrastructure of the Melchior Ndadaye International Airport.

The contractors included the Chinese company CENEMA-CGC for the power plant buildings and equipment, and Angelique International for the connection station and distribution line.

In October 2021 Evariste Ndayishimiye, President of Burundi, visited the site, where he found that some of the structures had already collapsed.

[8] In June 2021 the French company Hydroneo East Africa received a $1 million development loan from the British government's Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) for implementation of a 10.2MW run-of-river hydroelectric project on the rapids of the Mpanda River.