Internationally recognised hospitality brands, Sheraton and Hilton hotels will soon open shop in Kigali in the upscale Nyarutarama area, in Gasabo District.This was disclosed by the Mayor, City of Kigali, Fidele Ndayisaba in an exclusive interview with The New Times last week.According to the Mayor, the two establishments will be developed adjacent each other in the area initially designated for Kigali City Park.Kigali City Park which was a joint venture between the City, Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) and a consortium of local businessmen was dissolved after the two businessmen pulled out, and were bought out by a new company called City Real Estate Limited now owned by BRD and the City.The two businessmen, who opted out of the project that also includes a man-made lake tucked between the Golf Club and King Faisal Hospital Kigali, are Eugene Nyagahene and Musoni Ndamage.The Sheraton project, which has been dubbed Kigali Century Park, also expected to have high end apartments will cost $250 million, according to the mayor.Whereas Sheraton project will be developed by New Century Development---the same company that is developing the Marriot Hotel—Hilton will develop its own facility.As we speak, the land on which this investment will be set up is being cleared for construction to begin.The two hotels, which are one of the biggest brands in the industry globally will join Marriot, that is set to open next year, according to the Mayor and other facilities like the long-awaited Kigali Convention Centre, which Ndayisaba said will open by December 2013. Meanwhile, the Mayor disclosed that the prime land formerly occupied by the headquarters of the Post Office in Kacyiru, will before the end of this year, get an investor to develop it.The land has been redundant since the post office was demolished over two years ago.“The delay (for the land to get a developer) does not signify lack of investors to develop the area, we have had many of them but careful selection was required to procure an investor with the required financial capacity and the desired plan,” said Ndayisaba.
