Kigali-Rwamagana. A strategic proposal for local development of eastern corridor

Rwanda is a small, densely populated country in Africa. As many other Sub-Saharan country, Rwanda is growing at extreme rate. Kigali currently has about 1.3 million people, but projection estimate a population of 5 million in 2040. This growth is mainly concentrated in the city, which cover a surface of 730 sqkm and where only 17% of the land is urbanized. Of this 17% urbanized lands, almost the half is constituted by spontaneous settlements, characterized by lack of services, infrastructure, and settlements’ plans. For this reason, the Rwandan government has developed a very ambitious development plan, to be implemented with the aim of making Kigali “the Singapore of Africa”. The expansion of Kigali is a fact, and it is unstoppable. Which is the shape of this expansion? How do we study it? In particular, referring to the metropolitan area of Kigali, attention should also be paid to the peri-urban areas and especially the development of the surrounding provinces. The government has developed a policy of decentralization to promote growth in some areas, by defining some “nodes” of development. Among them, a lot of importance is given to the provinces of the East, and especially the city of Rwamagana, located in a strategic position. These areas are currently only marginally considered in the development plans of the country, because all the attention is focused on the city of Kigali. However,it is necessary to promote a strategic plan for these territories (within the range of 50 km from the city), to give identity to these areas and to become a resource for their livelihood. As the Rwandan economy based mainly on agriculture, I do not deny this fundamental vocation of the land (83% of the soil of the city is occupied by agricultural land).It is necessary that a policy of urban development follow a policy of exploitation of the soil, in order to foster this exchange between town and country. The argument would then investigate the development plans of the city of Kigali and periurban areas, evaluating the strategy and then pushing to define the possible lines of development and connection between the city and the provinces, focusing primarily on the development to the east, especially towards Rwamagana.