Kigali City Park re-advertised

KIGALI - Following the withdrawal by Dubai World from taking over the much anticipated Kigali City Park (KCP) due to the financial crisis, the Government through Kigali City Council (KCC) and Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has re-advertised the proposed amusement and hospitality part for interested investors to take it over. The Park located in a prime area between the upscale Nyarutarama area and Kacyiru in Gasabo District will be changing hands for the third time if new investors come in, following the exit of businessman Eugene Nyagahene and then Dubai World. Dubai World, an investment holding entity for the United Arab Emirates, planned to invest $230 million (Rwf127bn) in the country, but following the 2008 blobal financial crisis, it scaled down the number of projects in the country, among the park. According to the City Mayor Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, the planned projects will not change as the government still intends to see investors develop hotels, luxurious apartments, recreational facilities and real estate development. Interested investors will be required to submit architectural designs of their intended projects and will be expected to commence within13 months after the approval of their proposed projects. “We are advertising developable part of the park which will include commercial and residential projects. We will facilitate interested investors to acquire land. All developments will be in line with the Kigali City Master Plan,” Kirabo told The New Times. She revealed that investors will be given the flexibility to choose the design and size of their projects as long as they are inline with the requirements of the park. She added that some investors have already expressed interest. “There has been interest from investors. We are encouraging many others to come because the KCP is a prime project. It is a project entirely for private investors, but the Government provides incentives such as infrastructure,” Kirabo added. According to Claire Akamanzi, the RDB Chief Operations Officer (RDB), some investors including, Hilton Hotels, have already agreed to take part of the park where the a Hilton brand hotel will be constructed. “What we have done in agreement with Dubai World is to put back the Kigali City Park on the market and we already have investors that have bought part of the land including developers from Tanzania and a group from UK that is thinking of building Hilton Hotel,” “The remaining land is up on the market for other investors to take. There is an investor who has already expressed interest to build a resort and a spa and many others,” Akamanzi said. The park has about 26 hectares of developable land. Initially it was a joint venture of four shareholders; KCC which provided the land worth Rwf750m, the Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) with Rwf100m, Nyagahene and Thadee Ndamage, both investing Rwf280m. Later, Dubai World which has companies with a string of projects in Africa took over the park promising to build a spa, a number of high end apartments and an amusement park. Ends

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Kigali City Park re-advertised