According to the most recent Ministerial Order that was signed by the Rwandan Minister of Environment, Jean Darc Mujawamariya, and the Minister of Justice who is also the Attorney General, Emmanuel, made an approval for the expropriation of the assets that are in public interests located along four major Rwandan National Roads projects that are yet to foresee construction.
This approval of expropriation was published on December 20, 2023 in the country’s official gazette. The approval was done so as to pave way for the construction and rehabilitation works of the following roads:
- (Rulindo)-Butaro (Burera)-Kidaho (Burera) road
- Sashwara (Nyabihu)-Rega (Nyabihu)-Mutovu (Rubavu)-Kabuhanga (Rubavu)-Busasamana (Rubavu)-Muhato (Rubavu) road
- Mukoto (Rulindo)-Nyacyonga (Gasabo) road
- Kigali Logistics Platform (Kicukiro)-Bugesera road
Rwandan National Roads Expropriation Directive
“What the Ministry of Environment has done is giving a go-ahead to the construction of Rwandan National Roads Projects provided that the law of expropriation comes from the Ministry of Environment. Features of the land that include the forests and several others that we are in charge of will also be greatly affected when expropriation takes place in public interest,” said Jean Darc Mujawamariya.
The release of the ministerial order was to serve the purpose of informing the public on expropriation in the public interest and also that there would be according of appropriate compensation as per the law. The ministerial order also aims at facilitating the residents who possess assets along the Rwandan National Roads Projects to speed up the expropriation process as they receive information about the land surveying works that will be conducted.
Rwandan National Roads Expropriation Commencement Date
According to the Director General of Rwanda Transport Development Agency (RTDA), Imena Munyampenda, stated that the expropriation works for Base-Butaro-Kidaho road will commence by the month of January 2024 as a contract was reached. Additionally, the procurement for Sashwara-Rega-Kabuhanga-Muhato road is in progress and is expected to be finished by the month of April and be preceded by expropriation works between the month of June and July.
Base-Butaro-Kidaho road
The construction works of the Base-Butaro-Kidaho road had earlier on been stopped as a result of the demanding requirements that were placed under the funding agreement that was reached between Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and the Government of Rwanda.
During May 2018, a concessional loan agreement of $66.6 million (Rwf84 billion) was signed between India and Rwanda. Also, the Rwandan government is currently partnering with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and NPD which is a local company that deals with civil engineering and construction works. NPD shall undertake the road construction works and will be accorded the payments by the government in instalments.
Also read: Base-Kidaho Road project implementation in Rwanda to commence
This Rwandan National Roads Projects stretches at a length of 63 kilometers and is situated in the Northern Province. It was intended to link both Burera district and Rulindo district and stretch further to Uganda via the Cyanika border crossing. The road will also link the upcoming tourist centers of Burera and Ruhondo and other major infrastructure institutions such as the Butaro Cancer Reference Hospital and the University of Global Health Equity.
Nyacyonga-Mukoto road
A financial agreement worth $18 million (Rwf22.7 billion) for the establishment of this 36-kilometer road was signed by the Rwandan government and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). This road shall link two very important paved roads that run from Kigali city to the Northern Province.
This road shall start at the Kigali-Gatuna junction in Gasabo District and end in Rulindo District at the Kigali-Musanze road junction. The road shall also be impactful in that it shall reduce the traffic congestionon the road network more so along the border with DRC. The funding agreement that was reached is termed to be concessional and it carries an interest rate of 1.75% over a period of 20 years that is inclusive of a five-year grace period. The total cost of the overall road project is $41 million. The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa pledged a financial support of $18 million to this project and the government of Rwanda contributed around $5 million.
Also read: Kigali Green Complex (KGC), Tallest Building in Rwanda, to Commence Construction in January 2024
The construction of this road will be of great support to the national strategy of the country for the positive transformation through speeding up sustainable urbanization aiming to improve the rural-urban transportation services by establishing 14, 100 kilometers of scheduled bus routes all over the country.
Kigali Logistics Platform-Bugesera road
This road serves as a gateway to the heart of Africa by linking Rwanda to the surrounding countries including Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. This road will benefit the businesses of Rwanda with up to $50 million in terms of logistics savings.
Kabuhanga-Muhato road
RTDA launched a project of conducting upgrade works of roads with 81.7 kilometers that cut through the provinces and districts. The roads include the north-western lot that is in Musanze, Rubavu, and Nyabihu districts, which are sub-divided into three sections namely: Kabuhanga-Bugarama-Kiraro which is 10.7 kilometers long, Kinigi-Kabuhanga which has a length of 48.4 kilometers, and lastly Kabuhanga-Busasamana-Cyanzarwe-Muhato that covers a distance of 22.6 kilometers. Currently the road that runs from Rubavu to Kabuhanga is in bad condition and needs rehabilitation. Agricultural production that is from this area is impressively high, but unfortunately does not have proper road networks to transport the produce to the market in the country and also outside the border.
