The implementation of the Rwf2.5 billion project to contain flooding in Nyabugogo catchment area is expected to start next week following the procurement of the contactor. Engineer Fidèle Tuyisenge, the Water and Sanitation Infrastructure planning Officer at the City of Kigali, told The New Times in an interview on Friday February 7, that contractor signed an agreement following a review of the feasibility study. The project is seen as a long term solution to recurrent flooding, which has claimed people’s lives, damaged properties and led to business losses for many years. The recent downpour alone killed people, paralysed business and halted transport in areas such as Nyabugogo Small businesses in Nyabugogo lose at least Rwf178.2 million annually due to recurrent flooding, according to a 2016 survey conducted in the City of Kigali. The most affected businesses were dealers in vehicle spare parts, general merchandise and foodstuffs. Businesses in Nyabugogo are always affected during the rainy season due to the lack of sustainable management of the floods. “We conducted an analysis to assess the situation, the causes of the flooding and measures to curb it. And, therefore, we came up with this project,” Tuyisenge said. How it will be implemented Funded by Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA), the project will improve the resilience of the Nyabugogo area to flooding by enhancing the hydraulic conveyance capacity of Mpazi channel and Nyabugogo River. It will have a flood monitoring system as well as monitoring water flow within the Nyabugogo floodplain, Tuyisenge disclosed. Under the project design, Mpazi drainage channel will be expanded while two major bridges will be widened as well to enable direct flow of drainage water into Nyabugogo River. “The works will last for a year and four months,” Tuyisenge said. One of the bridges to be expanded is located on Mpazi drainage channel between commercial buildings known as “Ku mashyirahamwe” on the road from Nyabugogo to Muhima sector. This drainage which flows from Kimisigara, Nyamirambo and Gitega sectors of Nyarugenge district towards Nyabugogo has for years caused enormous losses of lives and properties due to flooding. The other bridge to be expanded is located in a place where Mpazi drainage channel ends before flowing into Nyabugogo River near commercial buildings known as “Kwa Mirimo”—along the road named “Poids Lourds” from near Nyabugogo Bus Park to Kinamba-Kacyiru. Increasing the bridges from one to two on Mpazi drainage will trigger the relocation of some business, Tuyisenge said. “The buildings owned by Mirimo near by the river will have to relocate due to expansion activities. Other buildings and businesses including the three big ones nearby Nyabugogo Bus Park will also be relocated to create space for the expansion of the drainage,” he said. Other infrastructure to be affected include water pipes, optic fibres by MTN as well as KTRN and Liquid Telecom. Rugunga, Mpazi, Masaka, Murindi, areas around Kigali Parents School, Gisozi, Gikondo, Kanogo Cadillac area are some of the other areas prone to flooding in Kigali. “We have a mobile machine that is removing debris from different water channels to enable flow of water,” he said. Tuyisenge added that since the flooding is also caused by unplanned settlement and deforestation on Mount Kigali, other measures include relocating people from high risk zones, planting trees, rainwater harvesting and creating a buffer zone on Mpazi drainage. Businesses weigh in Business operators have suggested different alternative measures of dealing with floods, among them, relocation of their businesses, using more water-proof building materials, creating portable flood barriers. Other called for measures to curb dumping on streets and drainage channels. Gilbery Gakwaya, who sells and repairs mobile phones near Mpazi Drainage River said that he lost over 100 mobile phones and spare parts. “I couldn’t work for two days due to heavy rains that submerged my site and this is a big loss considering that I generate over Rwf10, 000 per day,” he said. Léonard Shyirambere, the veterinary doctor at the Nyabugogo Saban Abattoir told this paper that floods killed one of their cows. “The floods also destroyed part of the abattoir park fence where cows are kept before being slaughtered,” he said. The abattoir temporarily halted its operations, he said. “Water was flowing into offices, restaurants and markets. There is need for sustainable management of this drainage by raising the height its height to protect it from overflowing,” he said.
