Kicukiro halts shopping mall development

Plans to redevelop an area popularly known as Kicukiro Centre in Kicukiro District have taken a new twist after district officials rescinded a real estate development proposal to develop the area.The New Times understands that a local group of investors, Kicukiro Investment Group, which had acquired land that is currently occupied by 400 market traders to put up a multi-billion shopping mall, was blocked after it emerged that the process through which the company obtained the go-ahead to redevelop the lucrative land was flawed.According to district authorities, the group had not gone through the requisite tendering procedures to acquire the land as demanded by law. The group had been awaiting the approval of its architectural design to put up the structure from the Kigali Construction One-Stop Centre.In an interview with The New Times, Kicukiro Mayor, Paul Jules Ndamage, confirmed the development saying the district had re-advertised the tender to put up real estate on the parcel of land where the market stands, a move that has attracted new developers.“New investors underwent fresh tendering procedures, and their applications are still being scrutinised and very soon, we would be announcing the overall winner probably by next week,” Ndamage said. According to officials from the district, Kicukiro Investment Group was also among the bidders.Ndamage said once new developers are approved, traders operating at the market will have to be relocated to Kabeza and Ziniya markets to pave way for the development. The district authorities had earlier set February 15 as the deadline for all traders in the market to have relocated.According to the district master plan, facilities along the Sonatube-Gahanga road should have a minimum of four-storeys. Kicukiro centre has been attractive to developers keen to put up modern commercial buildings.

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Kicukiro halts shopping mall development