The Kigali Convention Center is a center for technology, innovation, and luxury tourism in Rwanda. It accepts visitors from overseas and hosts international events with prestigious visitors from all over the world.
In July 2016, the Kigali Convention Center was unveiled. The convention center is evidence that Rwanda isn’t letting anything stand in the way of its growth and advancement, despite the country’s tragic past and restrictions as a landlocked nation.
The cost of construction
The over 105,000-square-foot venue is Africa’s Most Expensive Building. The enormous $300 million Kigali Convention Center, which is approximately $100 million more expensive than Egypt’s Bibliotheca Alexandria, includes several eco-friendly features as well.
Reported in May 2014
Kigali Convention Centre nears completion
The Kigali Convention Center is due for completion after experiencing financial setbacks for the four years that the project has been running. The Rwanda Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Ambassador Claver Gatete has said the Convention Centre will be commissioned this year. The oval dome will have more than 292 rooms, a conference center that can host 2,500 people, and office and commercial spaces.
The convention center, which is Rwanda’s first, is standing between the city center and the airport in proximity to key government offices including the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the Parliament. The Rwf128 bn (US$188m) project seeks to improve the country`s hospitality sector, attract and host international conferences and enhance the country`s foreign exchange reserves.
The Finance Minister has stated that the facility will be managed by Radisson Blu, which is an international hotelier with more than 420 hotel chains in more than 73 countries once completed. The project is being developed by a Chinese firm, Beijing Construction Engineering Group.
The Rwandese government last year issued a US$400m Eurobond mainly to get funds to complete the project. This comes at a time when Africa`s hospitality industry is undergoing major changes and renovations due to the newfound interest by internationally renowned hotel operators.
Feb 2016
US$ 300m Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda set to be opened in June
The multi-million Kigali Convention center in Rwanda’s capital is set to be officially opened in June this year; this is according to Ultimate Concepts Limited (UCL) which owns the project.
Kigali Convention Centre which is anticipated to be a hub of a lot of services in the East African Community will further host the 27th African Union Summit and this will be its maiden major event, several other events have also been scheduled to take place at the convention center.
The Executive Chairperson of UCL, Eng. Didier Sagashya confirmed the reports and said that the construction project which is valued at US 300m will be fully operational from June this year. He further said that the building will entail a five-star hotel consisting of 292 rooms, several meeting rooms, an office park, and a conference hall that can host up to 2,500 people.
“We are working very hard, 24 hours a day to complete the project, we will be doing final touches but construction works currently stands at 70 percent complete. The center will be in operation by June 2016,” Sagashya said.
The Convention Centre is owned by UCL, a joint venture between the Government of Rwanda through the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) and Prime Holdings Ltd as well as private investors, including Crystal Ventures Ltd and Rwanda Investment Group (RIG).
This mega-development will help boost the tourism industry in the country.
