• Project to take 30 months

The Minister of Infrastructure, Eng. Linda Bihire, has said that the construction of Bugesera International Airport (BIA) is currently estimated at US$350million (Approx. Rwf 197billion).
70 percent of the design of the state-of-the-art airport that will be built in the Eastern Province is complete.

"The total cost of the airport is estimated at US$350m but this amount is subject to change and may go below the figure,” Bihire said during an exclusive interview with The New Times on Thursday.

A British engineering company, TPS Consult, is doing the design work of the new airport.

She added that once the construction kicks off, it will take 30 months to be operational, but however added that the government has not yet got enough investors to inject in funds.

The airport is expected to be constructed through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).

"Once the funds are available, the construction will kick of immediately,” said Bihire.

The airport is designed to handle 450 passengers per peak hour and over 1 million annually during its first phase.

It will have the capacity to handle 15,500 tonnes of cargo annually with eight flight movement per hour during peak hours.

The airport will have the capacity of hosting the long-range, wide-body twin-engine Boeing 777 which the current Kigali International Airport cannot accommodate in its current state.

It is currently the world’s largest twinjet and its distinguishing features include the largest diameter turbofan engines of any aircraft, six wheels on each main landing gear, its circular fuselage cross-section, and the blade-like end to the tail cone.

Bugesera International Airport will be the only one in the region that has the capacity to accommodate such aircrafts.

Other features of the facility include a two storied presidential terminal.

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