The construction for the infrastructure of the Kigali Innovation City that will be in the Special Economic Zone is expected to start in 2022. The constructions are expected to cost $ 300 million. The details were revealed during the unveiling ceremony of the master plan of the innovation city on Friday December 17. Tessy Rusagara, the Managing Director of Kigali Innovation City, pointed out that construction will start with roads, installing water and electricity among others and the first phase is expected to be finished in two to three years. “However three infrastructures that are part of the city are already in place, those are the already completed African Leadership University and Carnegie Mellon University-Africa campus, and the University of Rwanda that is currently under construction” she said. She added; “This means that 28 per cent of the land is already used up by these infrastructures, and we are planning to build a visitor centre and our first offices, an incubator and a retail facility and we expect to build more as investors start coming in.” The Kigali Innovation City is being co-developed by Africa50- a pan-African infrastructure investment firm, and Rwanda Development Board, with active support from the Ministry of ICT and Innovation According to the masterplan the City will be situated on 61 hectares of land, and will have universities, office spaces, and start-up business incubators, alongside supporting facilities for retail, hospitality and accommodation. “Most importantly the city will be environmentally friendly where 50 per cent is open space, it will also include an urban forest and have a system of using rain water among other eco-friendly project” Rusagara said. Clare Akamanzi, Chief Executive Officer of RDB, said that the Kigali Innovation City will boost the economy, where the country will be able to make ICT exports and also help in the development of young talents and help the innovation sector grow. “As a country we want to become an innovation hub, and this master plan provides a clear path of the vision for this to become a world class innovation hub” she said. Akamanzi added that KIC is located near the special economic zone so they can work with the manufacturing sector and develop products that will help them like robots or any other form of technology. Alain Ebobissé Chief Executive Officer of Africa50 said: “what we are building is an ecosystem that will help transform the tech industry in Africa, this hub will not only benefit Rwanda but the whole Africa as well.” “What we are trying to do now is create a space, eco-friendly infrastructure that will attract investors as a place that will allow them to develop technologies, while creating jobs which is very important,” he added.
