KCC seeks public opinion on district master plans

Kigali City has called on the public to provide comments and suggestions on the on-going development of the detailed city master plans. The call was made during a stakeholders meeting to review the vision for the detailed physical plans for Kicukiro and Gasabo districts. During the meeting, various presentations were made by officials and Surbana, the consulting firm tasked to develop the city master plan. The meeting attracted Kigali City mayors, councillors from Gasabo and Kicukiro districts, different investors and developers, among others. The vice mayor in charge of Finance and Economic Planning at the Kigali City Council, Alphonse Nizeyimana, made an appeal to all Rwandans and different stakeholders to participate in the development process by submitting their impressions of the physical city master plans.“We are planning the city for the people, and therefore, need all their input and comments so that we put them into consideration during the development process. With all the input, we can ensure sustainability for Kigali City in the long term.” Nizeyimana underscored.“Some people are saying we are too ambitious on the development of the city master plan. But if you read about the story of countries that have succeeded in sustainable approaches to urbanisation through implementation of their master plans, you will find that there was first a vision, which the country believed in and pushed for and later achieved,” he alluded.“We also have a vision for Kigali City and should achieve it with everyone’s input.” According to Surbana Consultants, Kigali should be developed into a well branded, ‘Centre of Urban Excellence in Africa,’ with enchanting nature, green transport, affordable homes, sustainable resource management, local identity and character, vibrancy and diversity. Currently, it is envisaged that Gasabo would be the conference, civic and recreational centre of the Kigali City while Kicukiro would be developed as a sports, research and institutional hub with exhibition and wetland biodiversity parks. The consultants also presented two options for discussion on whether Kigali City should implement the linear or radial branching pattern in the process of its development with each having several advantages. The consultants cite the radial city concept, which ensures securing of adequate of land for future growth in a planned manner, adding that it protects city density by diverting traffic from the city centre while protecting green areas by encouraging high density development along radial axes.The linear city concept builds upon the current development trend by creating a high density growth corridor along the airport road.Currently, the city measures 731 square kilometres with a population of about 1.3 million and a household size of 4.8. It is believed that the city population would more than double to 2.9 million by 2025 and probably five million in long term. City officials say the master plan aims to curtail urbanisation to 35 percent so as to preserve all natural assets and create a compact city structure.

National

KCC seeks public opinion on district master plans