Indian group to invest in real estate in Rwanda

ROHAN DEVELOPERS PVT Ltd, a Mehta Group of Company subsidiary based in India has announced plans to invest estimated billions of francs in the real estate industry in the country. While addressing the Indian investment community in Rwanda, Haresh Mehta, the director of Rohan Developers Pvt Ltd—a real estate and infrastructure development company said his company is ready to make substantial investments in real estate projects if government gives him assurance. “Given the urgency and the business potential the industry offers, we are ready to commence on some of these projects within 45 days. There are still lots of business opportunities in the real estate industry that we are looking forward to exploit; we want to be part of a growing economy that guarantees profitability to the business community,” Mehta said in Kigali yesterday.The delegation of Indian investors arrived in Rwanda on Thursday to explore potential investment opportunities, according to Clarence Fernandes, the representative of Rwanda Development Board (RDB) in India.The team is in the country under the platform India - Rwanda Show 2013 and they are touring potential areas where they can invest their money.The India - Rwanda Show 2013 was co-organised jointly by Harresh N. Mehta ,the managing director and Haresh Mehta. It attracted several investors and businessmen from the US, Portugal, Dubai, Georgia, Tanzania, Mumbai , New Delhi, Jaipur and Hyderabad among others, according to Fernandes.For the last few years, there have been significant business engagements between Rwanda and India, including business missions on either side.Several Indian giant firms have already started operations in Rwanda, including telecom giants Airtel and Rajesh Exports, which acquired gold mining concessions, and plans to invest $550 million in mineral exploration, among others.Mehta’s announcement comes days after the City of Kigali launched an online Construction Permit Management Information System that is set to make it faster, simpler and easier for developers to get construction permits.Previously, the process up to the point of acquiring a permit lasted at least 30 days. However, with the new technology, if the applicant has fulfilled all the requirements, they should get the application in less than 10 days.His Excellency S.N. Ray, the Indian High Commissioner to Rwanda advised investors to focus more on energy especially solar and thermal energy given the existing domestic demand.“You need to give energy a priority given the fact that the country’s energy production is not yet up to the domestic demand.”According to Tony Sanganiro of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), it was very imperative that investors concentrate on investing for the export sector given the country’s trade deficit.“We need to increase on our exports given the rate at which we are importing; having many of you investing not only for domestic market but also for export will help our economy grow much faster,” he said. Doing business easiness hailed Investors hailed the easiness of establishing business in the country where it takes six hours to register a business.“We have done adequate research and realised that Rwanda holds great potential for growth and development of various businesses. Our companies will bring in a multi-million dollar investment, given the business friendly environment that exists, coupled with good governance and zero tolerance to corruption,” Mehta said earlier in a statement.Although the demand for houses has been growing, the housing sector remains under served with an annual demand estimated at 25,000 units, of which 8,000 are in Kigali. According to the City of Kigali recent report, 34,406 housing units are still needed to cater for the growing population.Last month Charles Haba, the president of the Real Estate Association of Rwanda told The New Times that rent fees are still high because supply has not yet met the required demand.The National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) statistics indicate that a single house costs about Rwf20 million as of last year. This means that total housing demand would require a financing package of up to Rwf500 billion per year.Mehta Group of companies is already an established company in the neighbouring Uganda and plans to extend its branches of investments in other countries with in the region including Rwanda.