From 16 to 17 October 2020, Minister of Infrastructure Hon. Claver Gatete held a 2 day field visit in Rusizi and Karongi Districts. Other Government Officials participated in this mission including the Governor of Western Province, Alphonse Munyantwali, Mayors of the two districts, Heads of Agencies as well as security organs. The mission aimed at assessing the current status of ongoing infrastructure projects and discuss with different stakeholders solutions against possible challenges.

Among projects visited, include the construction project of ports facilities in Rusizi, one of the four port facilities to be constructed in Rubavu, Karongi, Rutsiro and Rusizi under the support of Trade Mark East Africa and Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).

Minister Gatete said “Rwanda currently relies mostly on road transport which weighs heavily on transport and maintenance costs” adding that “With the existence of ports, the Government seeks to turn around that situation and transform maritime transport and make it a major transportation alternative for both persons and goods”.

Minister Gatete also noted that the presence of lakes and rivers might attract both the transport of passengers and goods, but there are currently no significant inland waterway services except the very limited waterway operations in Lake Kivu.

According to the Rwanda Transport Development Agency (RTDA), there will be three major ports with a capacity of about 1.5 million passengers per year, projected to reach 2.8 million by 2036.

The Rwf22 billion project which will be executed in the four districts of Rubavu (Nyamyumba), Rusizi (Bugiki), Karongi (at the Karongi cross-border market), and Rutsiro (Nkora region), will be operational by 2022.

A smaller port, the fourth planned port, in Karongi District will start with a capacity of about 300,000 passengers per year by 2020 and 400,000 passengers by 2036.

The port maximum cargo handling capacity is 580,000 tonnes, while the minimum is 270,000 tonnes.

On 29 November 2019, the Government of Rwanda signed a grant arrangement with the Netherlands to co-finance 45 per cent the construction of four ports on Lake Kivu. The four ports and their facilities will improve passenger and cargo transport on Lake Kivu and are expected to boost trade in Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The project is being undertaken with the support of TradeMark East Africa and Netherland. TradeMark East Africa is financing 50 per cent of the project, Netherlands through RVO, 45 per cent while the government is financing the remaining 5 per cent.

The port development is prerequisite of the overall maritime transport initiatives, which will be followed by the development and operation of ferry services on Lake Kivu.