The government has opened a tender for the supply of 34 fully electric city buses as Rwanda moves to expand electric mobility in public transport. The tender was issued by Rwanda Transport Development Agency (RTDA) on August 25 and signed by its Director General, Imena Munyampenda. ALSO READ: More electric buses to be deployed on Kigali roads under new govt tender The procurement is being undertaken under the Enhancing E-Mobility Charging Infrastructure in the City of Kigali project, which is financed through funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB). According to the tender notice, the government intends to use part of the financing for the project to pay for the buses. “The Government of Rwanda has applied for financing from the African Development Bank ... toward the cost of the Enhancing E-Mobility Charging Infrastructure in the City of Kigali,” the notice says, adding that part of the proceeds toward payments under the contract for Supply of 34 Electric Buses. ALSO READ: Kigali’s bold move to electric public transport is a step forward This means the bus procurement is one of the components being financed under the wider e-mobility project, despite the project's title primarily referring to charging infrastructure. RTDA is seeking eligible bidders to supply 34 fully electric city buses measuring eight metres, in addition to mandatory spare parts, onboard technology packages, driver and technical training and related services. The tender notice describes the procurement as the supply of “34 fully electric city buses (8 m urban)” in accordance with the Ecofleet technical specifications. ALSO READ: Ecofleet eyes 50% of public transport commuter share in 10 years The buses are to be delivered under Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) terms to Kigali, Kicukiro and Gahanga within four months of the contract effective date. The notice says no margin of preference will apply. The procurement will be conducted through Open Competitive Bidding (International) under the African Development Bank's procurement framework and is open to eligible bidders. Bids must be delivered to RTDA by 10am on October 16, 2026. Electronic bidding will not be permitted. The bids will be publicly opened at 10:30am on the same day in the presence of bidders' designated representatives and other interested people. Each bid must be accompanied by a Rwf62 million bid security, or its equivalent in a freely convertible currency, according to RTDA. The tender also requires the successful bidder to disclose information on its beneficial ownership as part of the contract award process.
