A so-called green zone which aims to provide green and affordable housing in the Kinyinya neighbourhood of the Rwandan capital city Kigali will create some 16,000 jobs by 2025, an official revealed Friday.
According to the Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA), the project, the first of its kind in Africa, is being implemented with financial support from the German Development Cooperation through the KfW Development Bank and the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBStudios), a British architectural design firm, has been selected to develop the master plan and detailed designs for the pilot phase, it said.
The Kigali Green City project, initially estimated to cost $5 billion, will provide green and affordable housing in the Kinyinya neighbourhood of the capital in Gasabo district and serve as a model for sustainable urban development, connecting affordable housing with climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.
Sitting on 600 hectares, it is expected to provide up to 30,000 affordable housing units.
The project will serve as a model for sustainable urban development that can be replicated across Rwanda and the region, said the Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Green Fund, Teddy Mugabo.
She said the project will serve as a catalyst for change, not only in Rwanda but also in the region.
“We are delighted to be working with FCBStudios on the design of the Green City Kigali master plan and detailed designs for the pilot phase. We can’t wait to get started,” she said.
So far, Rwamda has identified six cities to become green secondary cities: Huye (south), Muhanga (central south), Nyagatare (northeast), Rubavu (northwest), Musanze (north) and Rusizi (southwest).
With the urban population growing at 4.5 percent a year, more than double the global average, Rwandan officials are now emphasising the need to develop secondary cities as poles of growth as the country has set a target to achieve a 35 percent urban population by 2034.
CU/as/APA