KIGALI - The management of Icyerekezo Cooperative Society, an umbrella organization that brings together eight garages in Gatsata Sector, Gasabo District, has announced that the garages will relocate to the newly acquired land in the same sector next month.

Sam Gatwere, the organisation’s president said Thursday in an interview with The New Times that they have so far completed the new site’s Master Plan where all the garages will be operating.

"We acquired the land and we have also completed the site’s Physical Detailed Master Plan (PDMP). Very soon we will start implementing it to beat the deadline,” Gatwere said.

The garages had previous been given up to June to have relocated by Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) and Kigali city following the demarcation of the wetland in the area.

However, Gatwere said that the June ultimatum could not be met because the concerned authorities had not compensated garage owners and that there were other legal documents that were still required for the new site.

"We did not have all we had requested in time which prompted us to request for more time (up to August). But now we have everything and no doubt all the garages will relocate before the end of next month,” he said.

He said that the construction of the new garages will cost the organisation Rwf 1.5billion. The organisation has 100 members with over 500 employees.

Most of the garages in Gatsata and lower Nyabugogo and hundreds of families in the two areas fell in the wetland boundaries and are marked to be relocated.

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