The government is in advanced stages of negotiations with a private firm for the construction of the Kigali ring road, The New Times has learnt.

The development was recently confirmed by Claver Gatete, the Minister for Infrastructure.

The road will be a toll road under a Public Private Partnership agreement.

"Government is finalising negotiations with a private company on the establishment of Kigali ring road which will be a toll road under PPP arrangement,” he said during the recent Rwanda Economic Update.

A toll road is a public access highway for which a fee is levied for passage as a way to recoup the costs of road construction and maintenance.

Under the model, the road is developed by a private firm which is allowed to levy – normally a small charge – for a specified period to recoup their investment.

The Kigali Masterplan, during the project’s feasibility study, proposed that the road be established outside the built-up area of the city as a high capacity road. This is meant to ease inter-district movement with travelers not having to go via Kigali as is the case currently.

This could help reduce traffic congestion within the city.

The 80km road project has been listed for a while on the Visit Rwanda website as one of the major infrastructure investment opportunities.

Speaking to The New Times, Imena Munyampenda, the Director General of Rwanda Transport Development Agency, said that they hope to commence the project by the end of 2021 or early next year.

He said that the financing deal is likely to be completed "in the coming weeks.”

The construction, he said, is expected to take about 4 years.

Among the key locations the road will pass, The New Times understands include; Ruliba, Mageragere, Gahanga, Masaka, Ndera and Nyacyonga among others.

It is understood that a firm, Advanced Construction Technology Services (ACTS) which operates throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia was involved in conducting geotechnical study to assess the underground conditions.  

According to the firm, the budgeted cost of the Kigali ring road project is around $240M.

The Ring Road project is expected to provide an optional route for commercial transit cargo and ideally reduce traffic congestion in the City of Kigali and is provided for in the City’s Master Plan.

The move is part of the government’s efforts to ensure free flow of traffic in Kigali to create alternate routes for motorists and easing traffic in the city.

This will be one of many infrastructure projects implemented under a public private partnership model. Other recent projects include construction of an airport in Bugesera currently underway, energy generation projects, sanitation projects among others.