To many who know Rwanda 20years ago they get amazed when they rediscover a new Rwanda today. Kigali was known for its many unplanned Suburbs in mud bricks and rusted old iron sheets. Few Government Ministries buildings, Hotel des Mille Collines, and Laico where the land mark of the city. Most houses were not connected to electricity, water and telephones at all, the whole country had only 4% electricity access and 0.1% telephone access with 70% of homes using pit latrines in the city center . Major parts of city were known for mud in the rainy seasons and dust in the dry seasons namely Gikondo, Kicukiro, Nyarutarama, Kimironko and part on the country disconnected to the rest of the Country such as Kibuye, Nyamata and Ngororero. Pedestrians had no space on the roads hence confusing themselves to vehicles with very high rates of accidents.
Today both Kigali and the Entire country of Rwanda are seriously invest in both public and private infrastructure to meet the vision 2020 goals ,where infrastructure is seen as one of the core pillars, the enabler for economic growth . Almost all pre-existing tarmac roads have been rehabilitated from the roads and new ones constructed. A new road connecting Kibuye-Muhanga has been constructed and road via Nyamata to Nemba border to Burundi has been put in Place. Bugarama is now connected to Rusizi by a Tarmac road.
Major roads such as Kigali t
o Akanyaru , Kigali –Kayonza, Musanze –Rubavu have been completely rehabilitated and currently the roads from Rusizi to Huye, Kigali- Ruhengeri, Kigali – Gatuna are in a Process of rehabilitation too.
A new road along Lake Kivu from Nyamasheke to Rubavu is under construction and two more are planned to link Nyagatare to Musanze and Ngoma to Nyanza, the completion of this network will improve seriously the ease of transportation for goods and people inside the country and towards the region including DRC, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania. Roads in Kigali have been upgraded with and well maintained newly stone or tarmac paved roads such as Gikondo, Kicukiro, Utexrwa, Kimihurura, Nyarutarama, Gacurilo, Gisozi, Kibagabaga, Kimironko, Cercle sportif, Gasabo and more 103km are currently under construction for completion in 2012. Roads in Gisenyi, Kamembe town and Butare town are also undergoing rehabilitation, upgrading and new construction.
On energy, the country is currently covered with brand new transmission lines, sub-station and transmitters covering 65% of the country while every year at least 45,000 new connections are done in town and rural areas of Rwanda. Regarding the challenge of insufficient power generation today a bold plan with a strategy to mix and diversify sources of energy is getting fine-tune to turn the one 1000 Megawatts from the current 85MW into reality by 2017. Investments on Met
hane gas, hydropower and soon geothermal, peat, wind and renewable are getting implemented and others in the pipeline to mature soon.
From the harvest level of communication density about 50% of the population today are on mobile phone and the whole country is connected to internet for which the speed and capacity will soon be boosted to the highest levels with the operationalisation of the national backbone of optic fiber now connecting all Districts.
The water sector has achieved a tremendous progress and more is yet to come with the target to cover 100% access to clean water in 2015 from the current 75% yet 10years ago we ere at 47%, regional infrastructure such as railway, regional roads, pipelines and energy are also of high interest to Rwanda that plays a very active role in these projects proposals and implementation.
At home a new airport and an ultramodern convention center are forthcoming.
This entire bold agenda coupled with progress in Agriculture, Health, education, service sector and private sector development in progress raises high hopes for Rwanda to become a vibrant economy and a hub in the very near future. Strategies and institutional arrangements for high standards infrastructure development, maintenance, and sustainability have been getting established with a new sense of urgency for the last two years and this is the current investment in Infrastructure while creating the right base for real economic transformation with a difference.
President Kagame leadership and all his efforts in setting the share vision on a prosperous Rwanda is no longer a debate but a tangible really and if this can be possible in Rwanda, why not and when in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. Leadership, vision and ownership of development are the ingredients but leaders with character and determination remain the driving force for quality and timely action.
Vincent Karegais the Rwandan’s minister of infrastructureÂ
Subscribe to this comment's feed
