How to plan a city: What Kenya can learn from Rwanda

Inner courtyard at Radisson Blu in Kigali Rwanda. A brief tour of the hotel reveals the high standards that Kigali is setting for the rest of the region. (PHOTO: PETER MUIRURI/ STANDARD)

When I first visited Kigali around this time last year, two hospitality-related construction projects that are changing the face of the Rwanda capital — Radisson Blu Hotel and Convention Complex and Marriott Hotel Kigali — were still under construction.

Last week, I made my second visit to Kigali and the difference was remarkable. The two projects are not only complete but represent a new development wave sweeping across the small East African country that has been doing everything it can to get out of the shadow of the 1994 genocide.

Visible from all sides of the city is the newly-opened Kigali Convention Centre, a $300 million (Sh30 billion) structure that has stolen the thunder from other convention centres in the region, including Kenya’s Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi. Built in the shape of the Rwandese traditional basket, the translucent dome has managed to host high level continental and global meetings, including the African Union Summit last July.

This week, it is hosting 1,000 delegates to the Global African Investment Summit. “It is about having a modern convention centre that offers seamless services to the modern delegate. What the city now needs are more top-notch hotels to support this facility,” said Nagendran Naidu, the facility’s director.

Just adjacent to the convention centre is the equally resplendent Radisson Blu Hotel, a 292-room edifice run by the hotel chain that also operates the convention centre. A brief tour of the hotel reveals the high standards that Kigali is setting for the rest of the region.

Taking a whole wing on the top floor is the presidential suite, or what they call “an oversized royal suite”. During our visit, the suite still had the flag of Benin in the expansive sitting room, as President Patrice Talon was the last state guest to spend a few nights here a week before.

Moving on

Kankunda Julian, the reservation executive for the hotel, told us that such mega structures are what Rwanda needs to show its determination to move on after a dark past. “Many people out there associate Rwanda with what happened a little over two decades ago. Rwanda is rising from the ashes as you can see from all these new developments,” she said.

Slated for official opening this October is the Marriott Hotel in Kigali, the first property by the global chain in sub-Saharan Africa. Like Radisson Blu, Marriott has benefited from the recent major conferences in Kigali in the few months of operations. Peter Mukulu, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, said Kigali is ripe for such major brands owing to the business interest the city has lately generated. “Fifty per cent of our business comes from conferencing. Good governance, security and sound business policies are keys to the exceptional development being witnessed in Rwanda,” said Mukulu.

Even before the conference centre opened just in time for the African Union summit in July, Kigali was already on the radar, attracting high level meetings. Last year, for example, Rwanda hosted 13 association meetings and a total of 27 major conferences and events, including the 84th Interpol General Assembly, the Transform Africa Summit and the 7th East African Petroleum Conference & Exhibition 2015 (EAPCE’15).

This year kicked off on a high note for Rwanda, hosting the African Nations Championship with over 15,000 visitors. This was followed by the World Economic Forum on Africa with an estimated 2,500 delegates. The Apie Expo later this month will attract another 1,000 delegates while the Africa Hotel Investment Forum in October will have 700 delegates.

But what is Rwanda doing right to attract such world-class development projects and meetings? Ask any Kenyan planner who has been to Kigali and the first thing he or she will tell you is how well-laid Rwanda’s the infrastructure is. Unlike Kenya where development precedes infrastructure, in Rwanda, the opposite is true.

Transport

There are more than three different routes to get to your preferred destination within Kigali. The introduction of metro, smart buses means more people use public transport instead of driving. There is even a bus that ferries passengers to the main airport for free.

The flurry of activity in Kigali follows a clear government script where economic recovery is construction-led. According to the Rwanda Development Board, the government has attached a “very high importance to promoting construction projects and has increased government investment in infrastructure expansion and modernisation”.

In 2015, spending on construction amounted to $546 million (Sh54.6 billion), which grows at 10 per cent per annum. Real estate spending was capped at $471 (Sh47.1 billion) with a seven per cent growth in the 2014/15 financial period.

According to Lawrence Esho, chairman of the Kenya Institute of Planners, Rwanda’s success is as a result of the government fully implementing the policies it has developed. He said the problem with Kenya is the tendency by leaders to tie policy implementation to politics, with more activity seen around election period.

Politics

“You will see hawkers freely operating in Nairobi’s Central Business District when elections are around the corner. You can’t see such a scenario in a country like Rwanda. There is little city authorities can do since they (hawkers) are considered as voters. They leave the city in a mess whereas the Rwandan population is busy cleaning up their city,” he said.

But Esho said it is possible for Kenya to make its cities as appealing to foreign investors as Rwanda has. Kenya, he said, has the highest number of professionals in the built-environment in the region but politics seem to get in the way of meaningful planning.

However, he said things are slowly changing with the advent of devolution since counties can chart their own planning policies. “We have seen counties like Tana River and Makueni properly paving their town roads, even using cabro blocks for the pavements. Nakuru has actually succeeded in getting rid of hawkers from the main streets. We must decide what kind of country we want to live in by making hard decisions like Rwanda,” he said.

The near-perfect road conditions and an equally efficient airline have also positioned Rwanda as a preferred destination for emerging businesses. It takes an hour to fly from Nairobi to Kigali, almost the same time (or more) it takes a person to drive from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Nairobi’s CBD during heavy traffic.

Belise Kariza, chief tourism officer of Rwanda Development Board, said the country’s connectivity, cleanliness and a business-friendly climate have captured the heart of many reputable international brands. These, as well as the open visa policies, make the country attractive to visitors.

With Rwanda accelerating development through construction, other East African nations will have to up their game if only to keep up with one of the fastest growing countries in the region.