The Rwandan authorities are currently working on the establishment of a central sewerage system in the capital Kigali. This collective sanitation project is financed by several development partners.
Improving wastewater management in Kigali. It is the objective of the sanitation project that the Rwandan government is currently implementing. In concrete terms, it involves the construction of Rwanda’s first central sewerage system. The authorities have recently warned that the implementation of this collective sanitation project will cause the displacement of many families settled in the city of Kigali.
“A comprehensive study has been carried out to determine who will be affected by the project, their economic and social status and how best to minimise the impact. It started in December 2018 and so far we have identified 114 families,” explains Dominique Murekezi, Water and Sanitation Cooperation (Wasac), responsible for planning the water and sanitation infrastructure.
Funding from several donors
The implementation of the collective sanitation project in Kigali will begin with the resettlement of the populations currently living in the affected areas. On the technical side, the project will construct a tertiary, secondary and primary sewerage network extending over 89 km. The network will direct wastewater to Gitikinyoni. It is in this part of the Nyarugenge District that a treatment plant with a capacity of 12 000 m³ of wastewater per day will be built.
The government estimates that the treated water could be reused, notably for irrigation and watering the many green spaces in the city of Kigali. The project is part of Rwanda’s Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Programme. Its objective is to improve the quality of life and socio-economic development of Rwandans by ensuring equitable provision of “adequate, reliable and sustainable” water and sanitation services in several cities in this East African country.
The establishment of a central sewerage system in Kigali will require an investment of €96 million. The Rwandan government is financing the project with loans from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Jean Marie Takouleu
