More infrastructure will now be constructed at the University of Rwanda following signing of a related agreement for Korea to give a loan of US$51m for the project. According to a statement from the Ministry of Economy, the loan agreement touches on the basic framework of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) loan and responsibility to be carried out by the two countries.
The agreement for the University of Rwanda construction stipulates that the project will be undertaken for a ten years’ period.
The loan will see construction of 4 out of the planned components in the University of Rwanda project. Part of these will include an ICT center and university headquarters in Kigali. It will also see the equipping of the ICT center.
Other facilities planned for construction as part of this project include school of Mining & Geology at KIST. Technicians will also undertake capacity building using part of the funds. The general plan for facility expansion would finally see addition of training centers for teachers for issues related to ICT.
This project might see reduction of the numbers of Rwandese going for further studies as a result of lack of some materials. Minister Rwakabamba has also indicated the government’s objective to construct advanced laboratories. The ICT will help link the private and government sectors.
Development projects in Rwanda are supported by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) since 2006, including other projects in the education sector. The project will be termed as the University of Rwanda Infrastructure Development and the money provided will form a concessional loan from the EDCF.
