The owners of Dubai Ports (DP) World Kigali Logistics Platform, a new modern inland cargo handling facility, are considering the feasibility of running it as a regional e-commerce hub.

The $35 million facility, launched in October this year, sits on 13 hectares and features an Inland Container Terminal (ICT) with ample warehousing capacity, a container yard, administrative and services buildings, and parking spaces.

Nadya Abdullah Al Kamali, Chief Executive of Customs World, told The New Times here that they are working on aligning the Kigali operations with e-commerce activities.

She added that the facility is being marketed as an avenue to serve the regional market as a one-stop-shop facility.

"We have big plans for the Kigali port, which is a state of the art facility. The Government has been very cooperative in its set-up, we want it to serve as a regional facility,” she said.

She was speaking to this reporter on the sidelines of the Global Business Forum underway in Dubai.

This comes at a time when the Dubai-based Customs World is in the process of selecting four hubs in Africa for its Dubai Silk Road Strategy, which seeks to increase UAE’s involvement in transport and logistics services across the globe. 

Its chief executive, however, did not disclose the countries they are in negotiations with at the moment. 

With its services currently spanning about 65 countries across the world, the holding company recently launched an initiative dubbed World Logistics Passport to boost the role of the Dubai Silk Road programme, which paves way for further expansion.

With increased involvement in the local market, the firm said that it is planning on working with local companies in Rwanda and the region at large.

The development is particularly significant coming at a time when logistics operations are expected to boost by the Continental Free Trade Area agreement due to take effect next year.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com