Government and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) have signed a $15 million (about Rwf11 billion) loan agreement for the construction of Rukomo-Nyagatare road.

Nyagatare – Rukomo road is an existing earth road stretching over 73.3 kilometres with a corridor width of 6-8 meters.

The entire project will cover the Nyagatare -Byumba-Base ( 124.8 kilometres) and is expected to cost more than $ 88.5 million (approximately Rwf65 billion), according to claver Gatete, the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning.

"This road will reduce the cost of transport and mobility in general, and road safety as well as raising the standards of living in the area. It will also improve access to markets for agricultural produce, increase employment opportunities and thus reduce poverty rates,” Minister Gatete said.

Suleiman Herbish, the OFID Director General said the funds are in line with the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which mainly focus on infrastructure and energy projects.

He reassured Rwanda of the continued support to help the country realise its strategic economic objectives as stipulated in the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS2) blue print.

"Rwanda has a good standing cooperation with OFID spurning over 40 years, and we want to continue this cooperation by supporting the country’s transport, energy, and water sectors,” Herbish said.

According to experts, investing in infrastructure will enable the country’s private sector to deliver on EDPRS2.

Government seeks to work closely with the private sector as it gears to achieve targets in the five-year EPRDS2 agenda, which seeks to among others, create 200,000 jobs annually, as well as to raise GDP per capita from $644 to $1,244.

This fiscal year government plans to spend more than Rwf298.1 billion on infrastructure projects to make this dream a reality.

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