Rubavu District has unveiled plans to build a new bus station worth Rwf8 billion, a two-year project that will be implemented in collaboration with Jali Investment Ltd.

Jali Investment Ltd is the Rwanda Federation of Transport Cooperatives, formerly known as ATRACO, and has been managing bus stations in the country.

"The new bus terminal will improve the service of transportation, which currently not only lacks enough space but also doesn’t match the master plan of our district,” said Gilbert Habyarimana, Mayor of Rubavu, after the signing of a cooperation agreement with Jali.

Habyarimana added that the new bus station, whose construction is due to start in January 2021, will also boost businesses as there will be more facilities, including as a market.

The Rwf8 billion budget for the project includes the expropriation of property from where the park will be built.

According to residents, the current bus station has a limited capacity and inadequate infrastructure, which causes overcrowding among other inconveniences.

"The new bus station is good news because the one we use today is very small. When there are many people traveling, there is a shortage of parking spaces. That’s why a new station is needed,” said Innocent Karangwa, a bus driver.

Residents also said the new bus station is a welcome development.

"For us commuters, a larger bus station will solve the problem of a small space. For example, during evening hours, there are so many people that we have trouble getting on to buses. Space gets much smaller when there are three or four big buses,” said François Uwayesu, who works in Rubavu town.

According to Col (Rtd) Ludovic Twahirwa, the Executive Chairman of Jali Investment Ltd, the new bus station will be larger, occupying about 15,000 square meters.

"There will be enough space for cars and activities that will be done in other facilities,” he said.

Twahirwa said that the bus station will be the biggest of its kind Jali Investment will have built.

The multi-story bus station will have different facilities such as shops, a mall, a market, and offices for transport agencies that will be built in Nyakabungo.

Rubavu, as one of six secondary cities to be developed after the capital, Kigali, is home to many tourist attractions like Lake Kivu.

The district, which borders the Democratic Republic of Congo, has one of Rwanda’s busiest border.