Five projects identified for public private investments

Government has identified five major projects that require, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) if they are to be developed. Vincent Karega Rwandan Minister of Infrastructure said that PPP is crucial for infrastructure development. He said this during a two-day Rwanda investment Forum concluded on Wednesday at Kigali Serena hotel. The projects presented to the business community include the construction of Bugesera International Airport, East African Railway project, Rusizi III hydro power plant, Rusumo and Rusizi IV hydro power plants, Geothermal Energy and Methane to Power Consortium. Karega highlighted that PPP projects allow the government to retain a stake in infrastructure and ensure service delivery to the population and mobilise private finance. He added that since infrastructure funds often exceed available public finances, it allows to share the risk and responsibility for completion of complex projects to the private sector. Karega also said that other benefits of PPPs included improvement of financial discipline and control of costs since commercial debt has to be serviced by the private sector. ”These partnerships also improve quality of service and efficiency of management and operation through private sector participation and focus on outputs rather than processes,” Karega said. The multibillion project that will see the development of an East African Railway is estimated to cost $4.04 billion and $635m for Bugesera International Airport including equipment and installations. He said that around table meeting will be held with interested private sector parties in Bugesera Airport to discuss the final design and determine the PPP structure. Participants expressed their concern that in many countries governments initiate the PPP project and considered unsolicited bids when it’s initiated by private operator. However, Karega assured investors that, the PPP policy is flexible and that Rwanda appreciates the role that the private sector can play for the development of infrastructure. “The policy on PPP is quite flexible and it the government that will work so hard to abolish the monopoly,” Karega said. Peter Kieran the President of CPCS Transcom an infrastructural development company that conducted the Bugesera International Airport study urged to investors to exploit the untapped potential in infrastructure development. “Rwanda has untapped potential of becoming a major international hub like Dubai and Singapore,” he said. Over 110 foreign investors from 25 countries attended the high level forum with many potential deals expected from participating investors and donors who agreed to finance several projects under the PPPs. Ends

News

Five projects identified for public private investments