TOP STORY:Kigali Industrial Park, works begin next month

The business hub will be strategically located near the area allocated for the construction of the Free Trade Zone. The new Kigali Industrial Park project is set to create at least 1,000 various jobs, in the fields of construction, engineering and manufacturing industries, according to Fiacre Birasa, Rwanda Investment Group (RIG)‘s acting Director General and Chief Operations Officer (COO). RIG which is owned by a total of 41 shareholders, comprising 6 institutional investors, 4 mid-sized private companies, and 31 individuals is overseeing the process of developing the Kigali Industrial Park. The Industrial Park is to accommodate the industries that are being relocated from Gikondo to a more modern, competitive, efficient, cost effective and cleaner environment in Gasabo district. In an interview with the Business Times on Wednesday, the COO said that jobs will be created directly during the construction and after the development of the Park. “Though we call it an industrial park there is room for commercial activities around the park though they may be limited. Our core objective is to create opportunities for economic development and eradicate poverty,” he said. He also mentioned that the jobs would come through establishment of service providers around the park such as banks, restaurants, clinics and pharmacies. Work on the park’s site will be done in two phases with the first phase beginning next month for six months. This will include infrastructure development that will see tarmac roads constructed in the area, electricity and water installed and modern sewage system built. Feasibility studies of the project have been completed and the second phase of the project will be completed next year. According to Birasa, the need for sustainable industrialization and urban environmental management, as enshrined in the country’s ‘Vision 2020’, prompted government to review existing industrial set-up. This has also created room for this investment. To that effect, the government supported the relocation of the industrial base from Gikondo valley wetland to establishment of a modern industrial park in Gasabo district. The business hub will be strategically located near the area allocated for the construction of the Free Trade Zone. The proposed park will be able to concentrate dedicated infrastructure in a delimited area so as to reduce the per-business expense of that infrastructure. The planned infrastructure will include roads, roadways, high-power electric supplies, large-volume of water supplies and common sewerage works. “This is to attract investment and encourage industrial competitiveness through encouraging investments in modern and improved technologies. The park is based on the physical zoning idea within urban areas whereby specific land uses are planned,” he said He added that all the facilities including the infrastructure at the site will be of international standards though he refused to disclose to amount of capital invested in the project. About 40 hectares of the 88 hectares in the first phase of the project have already been booked though the process is still ongoing. Demarcations will be made of the booked plots as soon as the ground work is completed on the park. “Though the plots are very competitive, booking is done free of charge without any deposits. However in the process of allocating the plot priority will be given to people who are already in business,” he said. It is an investment holding company comprised of mainly Rwandan entrepreneurs. Its minimum investment value is estimated at $3.6 million. RIG owns 75 per cent while government owns 25 per cent of the share capital. Ends