Investment by the government and the private sector in readiness for the Commonwealth Heads of States and Government Meeting which was scheduled for July this year have not been lost or wasted, the foreign ministry has said. Though it is still unclear when the next CHOGM will be held, Foreign Affairs Minister Vincent Biruta said that the meeting would still be held in Rwanda once post COVID-19 pandemic. Following the pandemic and news that the much awaited summit had been put off till an unknown date, a section of private sector players were concerned on the fate of their investments in readiness for the summit. Among the key opportunities that local investors and entrepreneurs were bracing for include transport and logistics, increased demand in aviation services both for the national carrier, the Rwanda Airport Company as well as suppliers of services and goods at the airport. The summit is also expected to create opportunities in retail across the market traders across categories including Made in Rwanda products, hospitality sector inputs and other value chains. This was also viewed as an opportunity to introduce the global market to Rwandan made products. The local private sector had also worked and invested to make the most of opportunities expected to be in demand in the service sector guides, chauffeurs, broadband services, translators, clearing and forwarding, laundry, wellness services among others. In preparation for the summit, hospitality establishments had also worked to ready their staff through training as well as adopting innovative aspects to fast track operations. The minister allayed fears saying that the summit will still be held in Kigali when there is certainty on the global curbing of the COVID-19 pandemic. As for government investments in infrastructure in readiness for the summit, Biruta said that it was not lost expenditure the development was good for the country and infrastructure plans. Among the infrastructure development’s that had already taken place or in progress include the upgrading of the Nyabisindu-Nyarutarama road which commenced in August 2019. Stretching over a kilometre, this road enables commuters from the Remera area to connect to Nyarutarama-Utexrwa-Kinamba city centre. Other roads that have been upgraded or were in the process include Kabeza-Alpha Palace, Remera Airtel to Gasabo District Head Office, and one from Kigali Convention Centre-Kimihurura-Rwandex. The plans also included a facelift of four junctions and roundabouts, namely; Sonatubes, Giporoso, Gisimenti and Kimironko which is still a work in progress. . The Government was estimated to have allocated over Rwf20.1 billion to preparatory activities ahead of CHOGM.
