RWANDA’S
CONSTRUCTION BOOM
R
wanda is a resilient, forward-looking
country with a vision to elevate
to a middle income, service and
knowledge-based economy by 2020.
The need for infrastructure development
is one of the great global challenges of our
time. Rwanda understands the importance
of infrastructure in the development of a
competitive private sector. The country is
committed to infrastructure development,
dedicating almost a tenth of the annual
budget to transport and other aspects of
infrastructure. The level of urban settlement
in Rwanda is increasing, with existing
cities growing, and secondary cities being
developed. To this end, the government
continues to invest heavily in infrastructure.
Almost a tenth of Rwanda’s annual budget
is committed to transport and other
infrastructure. To develop a vibrant private
sector, Rwanda is investing in Roads, Rail
and Water transport infrastructure with the
intent of dramatically reducing the cost of
transport to businesses and individuals.
Rail
• Development of two major regional
lines in a bid to link the country to the major
seaports of Mombasa and Dar-es-Salaam
• Development of the Dar-es-Salaam
– Isaka-Kigali railway project, which will
connect Kigali (Rwanda) from Isaka to the
Tanzanian port of Dar-es-salaam. The project
is estimated to cost $5 billion once completed.
• The Mombasa-Nairobi–Kampala-
South Sudan-Kigali standard gauge railway
line: The project is part of the Northern
Corridor Integration Projects, an East African
Community regional effort to develop a
railway system network that will link the four
partner states to stimulate trade and reduce the
cost of doing business.
Road
• Rwanda transport sector has greatly
improved over the recent past. The transport
sector systems centres primarily on the road
network, with over 1210 km being paved. The
target is to pave around 500 km by the end of
2018.
• The sector contributes about 7 percent to
the GDP representing about 15 percent of total
service delivery.
• Maintenance of the national paved road
network is a high priority. Currently, 86 percent
of roads are in good condition.
• Projects in the pipeline that will require
development in the near future include 80 km
ring-road in Kigali City, 208 km road and 140
km roads in the secondary cities.
Air Transport
• The country’s main gateway is the Kigali
International Airport, serving the domestic and
several international destinations.
• The airport is also home to the country’s
national carrier RwandAir.
• The airport hosts different international
airlines serving different destinations: Addis
Ababa, Amsterdam, Brazzaville, Brussels,
Bujumbura, Dar es Salaam, Dubai, Entebbe,
Johannesburg, Libreville, Mombasa, Nairobi,
Istanbul, and Doha.
• The Government plans to set up a second
airport to complement the Kigali International
Airport. The new airport will provide both extra
capacities for passenger transport and cargo
freight.
2018 • RWANDA • 27