The European Investment Bank (EIB) is expected to announce a loan worth $85.7 million (Rwf73b) to the government of Rwanda, towards supporting construction of the country’s first public sewage system.
The announcement will be made Tuesday when a delegation from the bank visits Rwanda, led by its director for lending outside Europe, Maria Shaw-Barragan.
This will be the bank’s first public sector investment in Rwanda.
“The EIB has significantly increased engagement in Rwanda in recent years and we look forward to strengthened cooperation with Rwanda partners in the years ahead.
“The visit to Kigali marks the start of a new era of EIB support for public sector investment in Rwanda and enhanced support for private sector investment across the country,” Maria Shaw-Barragan, said in a statement.
“My colleagues and I look forward to discussions with ministers, senior banking and business representatives and international partners to see how to contribute to Rwanda’s ambitious Vision 2020 initiative and further enhance EIB activity in Rwanda in the years ahead.”
Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Claver Gatete, said that their visit would provide an opportunity to discuss “future investment across a number of sectors in Rwanda”
Rwanda has struggled to implement a central sewage system; and to date, only a few hotels, hospitals and few small residential areas in Kigali have constructed sewers and waste treatment plants.
Bids for the construction
The start of 2018 saw Rwanda begin to receive bids for the construction of its first centralized sewage system, which has been a priority highlighted in its 2016 National Sanitation Policy.
“Rwanda’s priority shall be on how to control pathogenic and hazardous materials. Therefore, treatment processes shall first be geared towards environmental health protection, and then to natural resource protection,” according to the Ministry of Finance.
On top of the loan from EIB, Rwanda’s sewage system will also benefit from two loans amounting to $171 million commissioned by the African Development Bank in January, towards financing the country’s sustainable water supply and sanitation program.
Once operational the new sewage network is expected to transform Kigali’s urban environment and enhance recognition of Rwanda’s capital as a green city.
