The government has announced a resettlement plan for 270 households living around SteelRwa plant in Rwamagana District, following air pollution concerns. The plan will guide where the affected families will be relocated and the financial package required to facilitate their move. Antoine Marie Kajangwe, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, told lawmakers on Thursday, November 13, that the government resolved to relocate residents within a 500-metre radius of the steel plant following a cost-effectiveness analysis. ALSO READ: SteelRwa speaks out after factory suspension over air pollution Kajangwe said this as he appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Land, Agriculture, Livestock and Environment, which sought an update on the government plan regarding concerns raised by communities living near the factory, which was suspended in mid-October over pollution. The government compared relocating the households to moving the factory itself, he said. “We found that relocating households was the more cost-efficient option, provided they receive fair and adequate compensation,” Kajangwe said. “The valuation of the residents’ properties was already completed. Since that valuation is now one year old and the law requires that any valuation older than four months be reviewed, we may reassess it or adjust the amounts during the relocation process.” He said the resettlement plan will answer key questions regarding the relocation sites, construction standards, and availability of essential utilities such as water and electricity. “Once the plan is out, it will give us a clear direction on where to relocate the residents and the resources required. We expect to begin the resettlement early in 2026, or at the latest in July, at the start of the next fiscal year,” Kajangwe said. SteelRwa management told The New Times that they had not been informed about the decision yet, but would comply with it. “At this stage, we have not yet received official communication from the authorities but we are prepared to cooperate fully with the government and all stakeholders once an official position is formally communicated,” the company said in a statement on Friday. It said the factory operations had been reopened. The management said that they had implemented all immediate environmental recommendations issued by the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) and continues to work with certified environmental consultants and international experts to strengthen its performance. “We are investing heavily in a new system and other improvements to enhance air-quality management, and further upgrades are ongoing under our long-term environmental action plan,” the statement read in part. ALSO READ: Health ministry: Dangers of air pollution on the rise “Environmental protection and the well-being of surrounding communities remain fundamental to our values. Our plant is the leading actor in Rwanda’s steel industry on environmental compliance, and we remain committed to maintaining this leadership.” SteelRwa factory had been temporarily suspended by REMA on October 17, following renewed concerns over excessive smoke and fumes. An inspection by the regulator found that the plant was emitting smoke that spread into neighbouring communities, and that critical emission-control systems were either inadequate or missing. REMA said at the time that the factory lacked a secondary extraction system capable of preventing fugitive fumes from escaping the existing fume extraction infrastructure.
