Development of $5bn green city in Rwanda to commence in Jan 2020

Rwanda is set to commence working on the development of a model green city in the country’s capital, Kigali. The Deputy Team Leader of the Green City Pilot project, Eudes Kayumba said that the relevant studies would be completed by December this year. Then the development will start in January next year.

The green city will sit on 620 hectares in Kinyinya Sector, Gasabo District with a system that would prevent environmental degradation and air pollution. Once completed, the planned city in Kigali would be the first-of-its-kind in Africa, as reported by The New Times.

According to Eudes Kayumba, the exact cost of the green city project is not yet known at the moment but engineers have estimated the cost between USD 4 to 5 billion. The funding will be coming from various stakeholders who have committed to pooling resources to ensure the completion of the project.

The green city in Rwanda’s Kigali will have clean technologies, electric vehicles, electric bicycle and motorcycle lanes, renewable energy, sustainable waste treatment, biogas plants, urban forests, among others. “The estate will also have mini-factories with clean technologies, affordable housing, integrated craft production centres. We are conducting a study to estimate the jobs that will be created based on how the residents of the area generate income,” he opined adding that the private sector will be involved in all this.

“When studies get completed later this year, we will start implementation of the project, beginning with key infrastructure such as water, electricity and roads which will also benefit neighbouring communities,” he added, The New Times noted.

It is also said that a section of the green city will be earmarked for low-income earners. Rwanda Social Security Board will develop affordable green houses on 125 hectares.

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