Kigali City is in the process of developing Master Plans for Kicukiro and Gasabo districts. This is in a bid to ensure sustainable land use in the future, KCC officials have said.The process to develop both master plans, which began in February this year, is due for completion in 12 months.  According to KCC, the master plans will also facilitate the development of investment in the two districts. Once both master plans are implemented, they will guide the development of the city in the next 20 to 30 years. The two plans will integrate the existing sub-area plans of Kimihurura and Kinyinya in Gasabo, and Rebero and Masaka Sectors in Kicukiro and other existing zones.The development of the detailed master plan for Gasabo and Kicukiro districts alongside the one for Nyarugenge district that is already complete and smaller sub-area projects will eventually form the complete Kigali City master plan.The Kicukiro and Gasabo master plans will be integrated with the Nyarugenege District master plan and the urban design for the Central Business District (CBD). It will also have the sub-area plans for Rebero, which would eventually host a resort and conference centre including residential development. Other projects due for integration include a new railway project linking Kigali to Tanzania and Burundi as well as the Bugesera International Airport. KCC contracted Surbana International Consultants, a technical firm based in Singapore to review the planning, direction and strategies for the entire city while integrating all the past plans and development initiatives.Surbana will also prepare the detailed master plan, urban design (for key areas) and also develop control guidelines for Gasabo and Kicukiro districts. The contracted technical experts will also establish a Geographic Information System (GIS) database for the entire city with information on proposed land use and development control guidelines that would easily be available to the public on an interactive web platform in the future.The GIS platform would be integrated with the Construction Permit Management Information System (MIS) platform that is currently being developed in collaboration with the World Bank’s lending arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC)."These master plans once implemented will be a solution to those who want to develop their plots but had been previously limited by lack of detailed plans and zoning guidelines,” said Liliane Mupende, the Director of Urban Planning at KCC.The development would see the registration of construction permits applied online to enable a conducive investment climate. The officials said the system would also reduce the cost of doing business in the country.