INFRASTRUCTURE IN RWANDA

Rwanda is one of the few African countries with well developed tourist infrastructures. When you see the roads, airports and hotels, you will concur that this country is clean, organized and one of the fastest growing in the Continent.

Road transport and Bridges

Rwanda’s tourism widely depends on road transport with most towns connected by a well developed road network. Besides that, it is connected to the neighboring countries of Uganda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Burundi by road. This system also plays a significant role in the connection of tourists across all the interesting tourist destinations in the country.   There are over 12,000 kilometers (7500 miles) of roads, 1000 kilometers/620 miles of which are paved and the rest being dirt roads ranging from smooth hard surfaces with drainage to furrows/tracks that are only accessible with four-wheel drive vehicles.  When it comes to Bridges, the popular one in this country is the Rusumo International Bridge across Kagera River and connects Tanzania and Rwanda.

Air transport and the Aviation sector

Even with its small size, Rwanda has seven airports although the main one is Kigali International Airport found in the country’s Capital. Two of these Airports have scheduled traffic while others are mostly used by charter airlines within Rwanda or from the neighboring countries of Uganda, Tanzania, and Democratic Republic of Congo as well as far countries like South Africa and Kenya. The Other Airports include Butare, Gisenyi, Cyangugu, Ruhengeri, Nemba and Gibiro Airports. Some are even still under construction so as to improve connectivity between different destinations. For instance Bugesera International Airport in Bugesera District, South-eastern Rwanda is still under construction and set to open by 2019.

Railway transport

Even with well developed road and air transport, Rwanda still lacks a developed railroad system much as it is connected to the Uganda-Kenya railroad system by road. It being a landlocked country means that majority of the International trade is conducted through the Kenyan Port of Mombasa. However, there are plans to develop two main regional railway lines. For instance the Dar es Salaam-Isaka Kigali and the Mombasa-Nairobi-Kampala-Kigali Railway Projects are underway so as to ensure connectivity to the neighboring countries through railway transport.

Water transport

Lake Kivu is the main water body that facilitates this form of transport hence connecting tourists to Democratic Republic of Congo. There are occasional boat services conducted between the main ports of Cyangugu Gisenyi and Kibuye although are not operated on scheduled timetable and repeatedly have to be chartered. More still, trips also conducted on other major Lakes but are limited to ferries or local boats (dug-out canoes or other hand-crafted boats), the same as used for fishing.

Hotels

There are numerous Hotels in Rwanda, many of which being within Kigali City. Classic and exquisite Hotels that you must try in the Capital include Kigali Serena Hotel, Grand Legacy Hotel, Manor Hotel, Radisson Blu Hotel and Convention Centre, Villa Portofino Hotel, Ubumwe Grande Hotel, Hotel Des Mille Collines, LeMigo Hotel, Great Seasons Hotel, Top Tower Hotel, Five top Five Hotel and Gorillas Golf Hotel among others. The list is definitely endless because you will get to experience class and comfort within the Hotels in this City. The National Parks, where most of Rwanda’s tourism is centered also boast of elegant and comfortable Safari Lodges.

Banks

You will always need to convert foreign currencies to Rwandan francs or vice versa, deposit or withdraw money during Rwanda safaris. Therefore, Banking facilities are also spread throughout the country, especially the major Towns. The Commercial Banks include Bank of Kigali, I&M Bank former Commercial Bank of Rwanda (BCR), Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Ecobank, Crane Bank, Equity Bank, Access Bank Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank (Rwanda) and Bank of Africa among others. There are also Microfinance, Cooperative and Development Banks within the country.

Water supply and sewage treatment plants

Water infrastructures in Rwanda consist of water systems fed by water from over 17 water treatment plants, stand pipes, private connections and managed springs and hand pumps among others. Example of water treatment plants in the country include Nzoze, Karenge, Kimisagara, Kadahokwa, Muhazi, Mpanga, Gihuma, Gisuma and Gihira among others. Most places in urban Centers are supplied with tap water than it is in the rural areas (that use mainly protected springs).

Electric grids and electricity

Much of the country’s electricity grid is concentrated within and near Kigali City and sadly, the cost of electricity in Rwanda is higher (about 3 to 4 times) than the neighboring countries of Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.  Due to the limited electrical Infrastructure, this small country boasts of a high level of renewable energy usage and most of Rwanda’s electricity is generated from Solar (7%) and hydro power. Rwanda also imports electricity from Uganda to supplement power produced in the country.

Telecommunications (including Internet connectivity)

Rwandatel, a Government-owned telephony company is the only wire-based company in the country and provides Internet services inform of wireless broadband, web hosting services, internet, domain name registration and data services for homes and businesses.  Nonetheless, MTN Rwandacell Limited also provides Mobile phone services within some parts of Rwanda as well as data, Hot spot services, callerTunez solutions, wireless Internet, enterprise solutions, web hosting, 4G LTE, mobile money and cloud services among others.

More so, a number of Radio Stations such as Magic FM, Radio Rwanda, Radio Flash FM, Radio Maria, Radio Ishango Star, Radio Salus, Radio 10, KT Radio, KISS FM, Mount Kigali FM, Radio 1, City Radio and Contact FM among others and TV Stations such as Lemmingo TV, Rwanda TV, Family TV, TV 10 AND Flash TV operate in the country.

Therefore, Rwanda has well developed infrastructures in form of road networks and bridges, water and air transport, Banking institutions, Hotels, electric grids and electricity, Telecommunications, water supply and sewage plants, that all contribute to tourism development as well as flourishing of other sectors especially manufacturing.