KIGALI - Following the Cabinet’s approval last week of the Land Use Master Plan, government officials have projected increased production through a well-planned exploitation of land throughout the country.

This was revealed yesterday by the Minister of Environment and Lands, Stanislas Kamanzi, during a press conference at the Ministry of Infrastructure.

According to Kamanzi, the master plan was mooted after establishing that land was one of the potential resources for the country’s development that needed proper use to support various economic activities, especially in the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy.

He said that through the land use master plan, land consolidation will receive a major boost which will in turn lead to increased production.

"We studied various parts of the country to establish the nature of land in those areas and the possible economic activities that would be sustained,  in the future, there won’t be any more unplanned activities that  contravene the master plan,” said the minister.

Kamanzi further said that the master plan would be implemented in ten-year phases with periodic reviews every after five years, but would be subject to amendment when and where need arises.

"A survey carried out revealed that Rwanda had about 1,342.8 km2 of arable land and 7,682km2 suitable for forestry,” he revealed.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Infrastructure, Vincent Karega, hailed the master plan saying it will pave the way for viable infrastructure rollout and proper planning of residential areas.

"In our Vision 2020, we estimate that 30 percent of the population will be residing in cities and town centres and the remaining 70 percent in communal settlements (Imidugudu),” said Karega adding that all this needs planning that is backed by a land use master plan.

He added that Rwanda is in the process of establishing a metrological centre to record important climatic information, which he said will be a major compliment to the master plan.

The minister stated that the centre would be very important in bridging the current gap where there is no shared centre of metrology to serve various economic sectors.

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