Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Rwanda government seeks bids for new airport

KIGALI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Rwanda's government said it was  seeking bids to build a new airport in collaboration with private sector investors as it seeks to overhaul its infrastructure sector to cope with its expanding economy.

A tender document seen by Reuters on Tuesday said the government was calling for expressions of interest from airport operators to design, build, finance, maintain and operate Bugesera International Airport through a 25-year concession agreement.

The document said the airport, located 25km southeast of the Rwandan capital Kigali, would ultimately be expected to handle 3 million passengers per year in 2030. It is expected to be operational by 2016.

"Bugesera International airport will ... be a world class gateway, with the flexibility to expand and develop to become a key hub airport within the East Africa region," the statement said.

The first phase of the project will include the construction of passenger and cargo terminals and a 4.2 km (2.61 mile) runway designed to accommodate large commercial airplanes.

Later phases will include the construction of a second runway and more terminals.

Last year, the government put the airport's cost at $350 million, and said it had expected the airport to be operational by 2014.

The coffee and tea producing country's economy grew by 9.4 percent in the second quarter, the fastest quarterly growth rate since the first three months of 2009, while inflation has remained subdued compared with the rest of the region, which is struggling with double-digit numbers.

The World Bank's 2011 Doing Business report ranked Rwanda as the leading business reformer in the five-nation East African Community bloc.

http://af.reuters.com

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