KIGALI - Following the current sorry state of Nyabugogo Bus Terminal, Nyarugenge District, in conjunction with Kigali City Council (KCC) has started rehabilitation works on the park to give it a facelift.

Jean Berchmans Kamari, Nyarugenge vice Mayor in charge of finance and economic development, confirmed this yesterday in a telephone interview with The New Times.

Kamari said that the works will cost Rwf 450m and will include putting in place a drainage system, pavements, lights and resurfacing the park.

The works which are implemented by a Chinese firm will also include fencing the park and painting all the park lanes.

"We requested them to even work at night to ensure the works are completed in the shortest period possible,” Kamari said, adding that the exercise will take three months.

The park is currently fenced on one part where the rehabilitation will start as commuters use the remaining part. In rainy seasons, the park is impassable as it’s always flooded due to lack of a drainage system, which has led to the emergence of potholes all over.

It was previously supposed to be redeveloped but the project collapsed when the African Development Corporation (ADC) and SORAS, a local insurance company, who wanted to jointly develop the project, pulled out on grounds that the location of the facility was small.

The re-development of the park was estimated to cost Rwf 2.5bn but the developers alleged their project was bigger than that and demanded the park be shifted to Giti Kinyoni, a few kilometers from Nyabugogo along Kigali-Kamonyi road.

Meanwhile Kigali City, in its 2010/2011 budget which stands at over Rwf 40.7bn, set aside over Rwf 513m for the Nyabugogo and ULK bus terminals’ Master Plan.

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