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.