The government plans to allocate around $600 million (approx. Rwf850 billion) to expedite the construction of the new international airport in Bugesera in the forthcoming 2025/26 fiscal year, according to the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Yusuf Murangwa. This allocation represents about 70 per cent of the proposed over Rwf1.2 trillion increase in spending in the next fiscal year compared to the current one. Murangwa provided the information on June 12 while speaking to journalists immediately after presenting the 2025/26 budget bill to Parliament. ALSO READ: PHOTOS: Rwanda’s new international airport ground-level works 85% complete Parliament approved the relevance of the bill through which the government plans to spend more than Rwf7 trillion in the national budget for 2025/2026. This amount represents an increase of 21 per cent – over Rwf1.2 trillion – compared to over Rwf5.8 trillion approved for the current fiscal year. The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, MP Gertrude Kazarwa, said that the state finance bill will be scrutinised by a responsible parliamentary committee – prior to being voted into law. While the budget increment will support the implementation of the second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) – a five-year development programme running from 2024/25 through 2028/29, Murangwa said that the airport project stands out – as government eyes its completion by 2028. “One substantive project that is in this budget is the fast-tracking of the New Kigali International Airport that is in Bugesera. We've been in designs for quite some time, we've been in preliminary activities for quite some time,” he said, stating that there is commitment to have completed the airport by 2028. “We also have partners, Qatar... In planning, we look at around 600 [million USD], but then implementation will tell us exactly how it will be implemented and the partnerships that we have,” he said. Murangwa also cited the expansion of RwandAir among major projects the government aims to carry out in the next fiscal year. The airport and RwandAir are a joint venture between the government and the Qatar Investment Authority, in which the Rwandan government will contribute 40 per cent and 59 per cent of equity stake in both the airport and airline, respectively, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN). ALSO READ: How Rwanda plans to fund, spend Rwf7tn budget for 2025/26 Share of domestic resources and external financing Of the more than Rwf7 trillion national budget for 2025/26, domestic resources will account for more than Rwf4.1 trillion, or 59 per cent. Grants are expected at more than 585 billion (8.3 per cent), while external loans are projected at over Rwf2.1 trillion (30 per cent) of the total proposed spending. The external loan amount is Rwf648.4 billion or 43 per cent, higher than over Rwf1.5 trillion in the current fiscal year. Borrowing related to the second phase of Bugesera airport construction and expansion of RwandAir are the main drivers of the increase, according to MINECOFIN. Overall, Murangwa said that domestic resources including external loans that the government will pay account for over 91 per cent of the total planned budget.
