Construction is now one of the most booming sectors in the country. With new buildings springing up across the city, attention is shifting on how environmentally friendly the buildings are.

According to Christian Beinamani from the Rwanda association of Architects, if Rwanda is to have more environmentally friendly buildings, there will have to be closer partnerships among stake holders who include the regulators, property developers and city authorities who issue the building permits.

"We need support of the entire system to revise our construction process; such as how we choose materials and policies that regulate the standards of the building industry,” Beinamani said.

"I don’t agree with architects who design buildings which are not energy efficient and I see such buildings around. But you have to understand because there are major constraints that force someone to design buildings according to what clients want, or basing on the building materials available on the market,” Beinamani told The New Times on Thursday. 

Rwanda was among the 194 countries that ratified the Paris Agreement on Energy efficiency in buildings, in December 2015, which is considered a land mark in the quest for a more environmental friendly world.

The buildings sector of today has an oversized footprint; it is estimated—by the UN Habitat, that the sector accounts for 38 per cent of greenhouse gas emission worldwide, making it the single largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), hence contributing significantly to climate change.

Available figures say that over 50 per cent of the total energy generated in developing countries is used in urban buildings alone, consuming more energy than the transport or the industrial sectors. 

However, Rwanda Housing Authority’s (RHA) Director General Eng. Didier Sagashya is optimistic that with the new legal instruments regulating housing and urban development, Rwanda is on the right track to ensure energy efficiency building principles.

Addressing journalists on the status of building system in Rwanda, at RHA headquarters in Kigali, Thursday, Sagashya said the new housing policy which was ratified in March last year, talks about efficiency, in energy, water and use of land and encourages the development of energy efficiency building.

"The Rwanda building code, which was also introduced in May 2015, asks people to maximise the natural lights and ensure that each building has enough ventilation, vegetation and rain water collection, among others,” Sagashya said.

He added that Rwanda is a country where one doesn’t need to be in air-conditioned building, hence calling on property developers and architects to ensure proper ventilation, orientations and use of local building materials that are sustainable. 

In a recent workshop on green building reporting in East Africa conducted by the UN Habitat, held in Machakos County, Kenya, building experts criticised the growing trend of glass-covered structural designs that is steadily shaping urban cities in the region, describing them as non-sustainable building practices.

However, Sagashya dismissed the allegation, saying some glazed buildings could be green. 

"What matters, is how you position your house in relation to sunlight and wind direction, and the kind of glasses you use. There are glasses that limit the light, there are those that limit the infrared rays. To be able to ascertain a building that fulfills the sustainable building principles, you need to carry out an audit to be able to impose correctional measures and make local buildings energy responsive,” he said. 

Sagashya pointed out that when someone is applying for a building permit, especially for big building projects, "we ask how much energy will be saved, how have they positioned their buildings in relation to the sunshine’s direction, this is important in terms of maximising natural lighting from the sun.”

Sagashya, noted that the Cactus green park project which is being worked on by Horizon group, will act as the pilot project for the future green buildings in Rwanda.

Cactus Green Park project, which was launched in October, last year, shall be located in Kinyinya Sector Kigali suburb. It is partly funded by the National Fund for Climate Change and Environment (FONERWA), and it will produce about 349 units.

The dwelling units will be distributed in 137 buildings, according to the developers.

Construction work for Cactus Green Park project will begin in June this year, lasting for 18 months according to the developers.

Sagashya added that the government of Rwanda is working with a Korean-based-organisation Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) to develop green secondary cities in Rwanda.

"This institute is going to help Rwanda through the ministry of Infrastructure to develop a roadmap to see how we can get green cities,” said Sagashya, adding that this will come to complement on the already rolled out green villages programme.

"In the green villages, people will be able to use recycled water, biogas, solar energy among others. There is a lot in this area which is being done, even though it is still at small scale,” said Sagashya.

The New Times understands that Rwanda Housing Authority has started encouraging people to rate how green their buildings are, to find out how they satisfy the sustainable building principles.

He also said that, there will be a company hired to rate the Kigali Convention Centre, to gauge how green it is, giving the facility a competitive edge.

"When you have a green building, it uses less energy, recycles the water and other wastes and creates less pollution into the environment. Some people would prefer to have a conference in a green conference hall than any other place, because they know that they are contributing to something sustainable,” he said. 

Yves Sangwa of UN Habitat project officer Energy efficiency development in East Africa, acknowledges that the Building Codes and Housing policy implemented in Rwanda will play a significant role to make the country Energy Efficiency.

He said that 89 architects and other practitioners on Sustainable Building design, have been trained on how to design sustainable buildings in the City of Kigali and other four secondary cities of Rwanda.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw