The Government has issued a public notice calling for bids for the management of the recently inaugurated Kigali Arena.

The arena, located just outside the Amahoro National Stadium in Remera, is a 10,000-seat capacity facility for sports and other events.

It is one of the top 10 indoor sports venues on the continent, and the biggest in the Eastern Africa region.

The 3-storey complex, which was inaugurated in August, sits on a 28,000 square-metre piece of land, with a parking lot that can accommodate over 600 vehicles.

The Ministry of Sports and Culture announced this week it was looking for proposals from prospective qualified local and international investors to take on the management and operations of the facility.

"The Government of the Republic of Rwanda represented by the Ministry of Sports and Culture (MINISPOC) is, through a fair and transparent competitive bidding process in accordance with the Rwandan Law and international best practice, seeking to receive proposals from interested qualified and experienced firms/operators who will undertake a key role of operation, marketing, financing, maintenance and management of the new Kigali Arena,” the notice reads in part.

The objective is to create a world class multi-purpose sporting indoor arena to boost sports development, host continental tournaments in Rwanda as well as provide a grand multi-purpose recreational/events arena to its end users for non-sporting activities, officials said.

The $100m arena features are highly influenced by the Rwandan traditional imigongo designs.

The Government is looking for private operators with experience in running facilities with similar ethos, and those with enough financial capacity, the ministry said.  

It is however not clear how many years of experience are deemed sufficient enough to be considered for the task.

Few local companies have the experience managing facilities like Kigali Arena, but local contractors have traditionally received preferential treatment in public tenders. A local firm can also join hands with a foreign company and bid in the form of a joint venture.

According to the formal request for proposals published on the Government’s e-procurement website, an evaluation committee composed of officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Rwanda Development Board, Ministry of Sports and Culture, and the Rwanda Housing Authority, had been set up to conduct the process.  

The successful bidder in the open tender, government says, will sign a two-year management contract with the Ministry of Sports and Culture. The contract would be subject to renewal, according to the procuring entity.

Submission of proposals ends November 21.

Kigali Arena has since hosted a couple of major events, including the Kwita Izina concert headlined by American R&B star Ne-Yo, as well as five games (men and women) of the 2018/19 basketball playoffs finals.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com