KCB Bank Rwanda and Century Park Ltd have inked a financial partnership deal to fast-track the multimillion dollar Century Park Complex in Kigali. The bank will invest more than $200 million (about Rwf145 billion) into the construction of the complex park hotel that is expected to add more than 200 apartments, 16 supper luxurious villas, supermarkets and two five star hotels. The deal, according to Charles Haba, the director of Century Real Estate, is a great relief as the complex will help ease the increasing demand for accommodation and real estate services, especially in the hospitality sector. The two-phase project next to Kigali Golf Course in Nyarutarama, a Kigali suburb, will sit on 9.6 hectares of land, and will be completed within five years, Haba added. “This is very important because Rwanda wants to become a service hub for the region, and government is currently working with private sector to make this dream a reality,” Haba said. The hospitality industry and the service sector in general are still grappling with challenges, including shortage of world class accommodation facilities. For example, Rwanda has more than 258 registered hotels with about 6,000 rooms across the country, 3,000 of which are in Kigali. This is not enough if the country was to host big international conference centres. The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has already unveiled a strategy that is expected to earn the country over $150m (about Rwf104 billion) annually from international conferences and workshops by 2015, up from $49 million presently. Experts say projects like Century Park Hotel are a timely shot in the arm that will boost the country’s service industry. In a past interview with The New Times, Fidel Ndayisaba, the mayor of the City of Kigali, said the project embraces both medium- and long-term vision and will help in the realisation of the country’s strategic economic objectives. Addressing the housing challenge Although the project targets a high-end class, it is expected to help reduce on the demand of real estate in the country. This is critical because statistics indicate that the city population has surpassed the one million mark, and is expected to reach more than 2.5 million by 2017. This means more demand for accommodation among other social services. Maurice Toroitich, the KCB managing director, said availing Rwandans with different alternatives in the housing industry is critical for sustainable development. “The question of housing is critical for Rwanda to become a middle income economy, it does not only mean stability but also economic empowerment of the citizens,” Toroitich said. He re-affirmed the bank’s continued support towards the country’s real estate activities and other sectors of the economy towards poverty reduction. Rwanda’s real estate activities contributed more than Rwf83 billion to the national economy during first quarter 2015, up from Rwf78 billion the same period in 2014, according to statistics from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. Hotels and restaurants fetched Rwf28 billion up from Rwf27 billion during the first quarter of 2014. There is hope that with increasing investments into these two sectors, Rwanda’s economic growth could move closer to a double digit of 11.5 per cent by 2018.
