Rwanda is today presenting its most bankable investment projects at The Global African Investment Summit that opened in London. The projects spanning across four sectors; Natural resources, Power, Agri-business and infrastructure are worth over USD 5 Billion.

The two-day summit, which has attracted over 1000 global investors, including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, private equity and asset management firms representing over USD 7 Billion in capital, is the second such meeting.

The delegation led by Rwanda Development Board will pitch projects alongside nine other African countries.

The Rwandan projects to be presented at the summit aim to meet targets outlined in the Second Economic Development and poverty reduction strategy and Vision 2020.

According to a programme overview of the projects to be presented at the summit, Rwanda will present about ten projects. Among the projects to be presented include top government priority projects such as the Kigali Innovation City, the Mombasa-Kampala-Kigali-/Juba standard gauge railway and the Eldoret-Kampala-Kigali refined petroleum products pipeline project

The petroleum products pipeline project that will run from Kenya to Rwanda via Uganda has an estimated total cost of about $13.8b with Rwandan section expected to cost an estimated USD 1.2 Billion.

The successful completion of the project will see Rwanda eliminate the need for current road tanker transportation methods. The pipeline is expected to enter Rwanda through Kagitumba sector in Nyagatare district to Rusororo sector of Gasabo district in the Kigali industrial zone.

The Kigali Innovation City Project is a government flagship project designed to accelerate development of Rwanda’s ICT sector and transforming Rwanda into a knowledge-based economy. The Kigali Innovation City is set to house various facilities including a research & development facility, ICT training centres, software build and test labs, specialised institutions of higher learning and a business incubation centre.

The project will comprise of multiple elements of a city such as corporate buildings, retail, leisure, sports, accommodation, education, health care and others.

The Innovation’s Centre of Excellence will be the physical home in which systematic inter-play will take place between local operations of multinational ICT companies and a consortium of universities led by Carnegie Mellon University CMU in Rwanda.

The standard Gauge Railway, another regional project to be presented at the summit is being implemented by four countries Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda as part of the Northern Corridor Integration Initiative.

Following a protocol signed in May 2014 by the Partner States to jointly develop the railway line, the four countries agreed on harmonisation of technical standards, policies, capacity building and financing mechanisms.

The project aims at developing a modern high capacity Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) system that is efficient, reliable, safe and affordable for both freight and passengers in order to reduce the cost of doing business and to improve regional trade competitiveness. The line Running from the port of Mombasa to Kigali is jointly expected to cost over USD 13 Billion with Rwanda’s part expected to cost over a Billion.

To facilitate the country’s goal of becoming a top destination in the region for international meetings and conferences, the Rwandan Delegation at the summit will pitch the construction of Rwanda International Trade Fairs and Exhibitions Park. The USD 45 Million Project will not only resolve the space for exhibition issues that we currently face but also complement the Rwanda strategy on Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE Strategy).

 Affordable housing will also take centre stage as Rwanda Social Security Board is expected to present two residential housing projects seeking investments. The projects, Kinyinya Residential Project and Batsinda Project have estimated costs of USD 57Million and 10 Million respectively. 

Kinyinya Residential project will comprise about 3,672 dwelling units with 1-4 bedrooms set out in four storey apartment buildings spread over 100 hectares. The dwelling units will consist of mainly apartments. Kinyinya will also have a commercial, entertainment, recreational and public transport amenities for use by residents. It will be built in three phases over 7-8 years. The first phase will comprise of about 500 dwelling units.

The Batsinda Project on the other hand will be a 11 ha neighborhood development catering for lower income group. The proposed number of units will vary from 350-400 units. Housing units will be an economical construction method.

The Rwandan Development Board will also pitch two agro-business projects worth a total of USD 51 Million. The projects Kigali Wholesale Market and the Avocado Processing plant are part of the government’s efforts to modernize practices around agriculture, add value and create jobs.

The proposed Kigali Wholesale Market for Fresh Produce is a new 10,000m2 facility located at Kigali Special Economic Zone (KSEZ), Gasabo district in Kigali City. The total cost of the project is estimated at USD 31.4 million. In later years, once there is a trading record it should be possible to refinance and expand the project using commercial finance. The project could potentially create up to 2,000 jobs within the wholesale market and through affiliated businesses.

Experts and organisers of the summit attribute the increased interest of investors in the summit to the continent’s growth in GDP and stability of economies. 

According to the latest United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) annual report on foreign direct investment (FDI), while investment, globally, fell by 16% in 2014, FDI flows in Africa remained stable at $54 billion and flows into Sub-Saharan Africa rose 5% to $42 billion, riding out challenges such as falling commodity prices.

Paul Sinclair, director of The Global African Investment Summit, said that the summit’s investor interest also grew largely due to its ability to provide an opportunity to establish relationships and directly engage with very senior government representatives and project developers in one joint forum.

"Two key factors driving the increase in investor interest in the 2015 Summit are, firstly, the opportunity to establish relationships, and directly engage with very senior government representatives and project developers in one joint forum. Secondly, economic factors - Africa registered 5% GDP in 2014, beating the global average by 1.5%, so the continent remains an attractive and important destination for investors,” Sinclair was quoted in the summit’s press communiqué.

 Dr Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa said Summit moved beyond the conventional discussion on the need for change in Africa and provides a business platform, offering African governments, and companies, the chance to showcase their investment projects to investors interested in long-term investment in Africa.