A total of 51.5 kilometer road network is set to be upgraded in the City of Kigali at a cost of Rwf58.2 billion courtesy of the Export-Import Bank of Chaina.

The draft law for the ratification of the loan agreement signed in Beijing, for the Yuan 488m, was approved by a recent Cabinet meeting.

The agreement was signed between the Rwandan government and the Export-Import Bank of China for Kigali Urban Road Upgrading Project

The framework agreement was signed during a meeting on the implementation of the follow-up actions of the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Corporation (FOCAC), held last month in Beijing.

In an interview last week, Bruno Rangira, the spokesperson of the City of Kigali, explained that the government had already funded the works on the road from the city centre to Serena Hotel , among other roads, in the city that had earlier been part of the plan.

The upgrading project, according to Rangira, seeks to reduce traffic jams through creation of bypass roads and expansion of the existing roads.

"It will see the expansion and upgrading to dual carriage: the route from City centre roundabout through Muhima, Nyabugogo to Gatsata; the road from Rwandex-Sonatubes-Prince House in Remera; and overlaying and replacing streetlights along Kanogo-Rwandex road,” he said.

It also includes the construction of Kimihurura road network, including Rwandex-Gishushu (dual carriage), Rwandex-Mu myembe (Dual carriage), Mu myembe-Kimihurura (Primature) Roundabout (dual carriage).

It will also see the construction of the Nyamirambo-Rebero-Kicukiro (Nyanza) road, the Nyamirambo-Cyumbati-Gikondo road, Kagugu-Batsinda-Nyacyonga road, the city centre-Yamaha road (dual carriage), and the Kimisange-Cyumbati road.

The works to be carried out by China Road and Bridge Corporation, are expected to last 32 months.

"The completion of this project is expected to considerably improve the traffic capacity of Kigali urban roads and facilitate the social and economic development of Kigali city through the smooth transportation of passengers and goods,” added Rangira.

Last month, officials from governmental departments, enterprises, financial institutions and other organisations from China and African countries held intensive bilateral meetings and consultations.

As a result, the two sides signed 61 cooperation agreements in various forms, including 20 intergovernmental economic and trade cooperation agreements signed between the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and the relevant African countries.

The total contract volume reached 18.2 billion dollars in which the amount of direct investment from Chinese enterprises to Africa reached to 14.8 billion dollars.

Statistics show that since the conclusion of the Johannesburg summit held towards the end of 2015, China and Africa have signed 243 agreements of various kinds involving a total of $50.7 billion.

The volume of direct investments and commercial loans from Chinese enterprises to Africa reached 46 billion dollars.

Speaking at a recent news conference, Pan Hejun, the Chinese ambassador to Rwanda, said that the Kigali Urban Road Upgrading Project is one of the ways through which Rwanda is benefitting from FOCAC.

"You can see that Rwanda is already getting its share and in years to come, more will be agreed upon and implemented,” he said.

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