A Qatari government delegation led by Foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was in Kigali a month ago for bilateral talks key among them the financing of the Bugesera International Airport.
Rwanda has been seeking funds for the new airport that will be its largest and whose construction began in August 2017 with a deadline set for 2020.
The government entered into a public/private partnership with Portuguese firm Mota Engil that granted the company the rights to operate the airport for 25 years to recoup its total investment, estimated at about $820 million, with an option to extend the agreement for 15 years.
However, late last year, the government suspended construction works to make improvements in design and quality and even expand it.
Mota Engil injected $418 million in the initial phase of the project. The second phase had been estimated to cost $382 million.
But the redesign is expected to push up costs and has forced Rwanda to hunt for more financiers.
The Rwandan delegation that held talks with the Qataris was led by Foreign minister Richard Sezibera. Ministers for Infrastructure Claver Gatete and ICT Paula Ingabire were also present as well as national carrier RwandAir chief executive Yvonne Manzi Makolo.
We are discussing investment in Bugesera airport and there seems to be good interest in this. Hopefully the deal will be closed soon. I can’t tell you the size of the investment since negotiations are still ongoing. I can only tell you that the discussions are going on well, Dr Sezibera disclosed.
Asked whether Mota Engil will be part of the new agreement, Dr Sezibera said Bugesera and other potential investments we have are big enough for many actors. The only challenge is that we don’t have as many investors as we would like to.
The Qatari delegation also met Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente on Friday and held private talks with President Paul Kagame at his home in Muhazi.
Once complete, Bugesera is expected to handle 1.7 million passengers per year, almost double the country's current total traffic.
Qatar is expected to become a major investor in Rwanda’s Bugesera Airport after both countries signed an agreement to bolster aviation investments and co-operation.
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, was in Kigali this past week on a three-day tour where he held talks with President Paul Kagame. This came at a time when Qatari investments in the region are increasing.
The two countries signed agreements in aviation travel and logistics, culture, sports and tourism and business events.
The Emir’s visit was a follow-up to President Kagame’s visit to Doha in November 2018, where they sealed deals on economic, commercial, and technical co-operation.
The agreements involve strategic co-operation with Rwanda’s Aviation Travel and Logistics (ATL)—the company managing RwandAir—and Qatar Airways.
ATL is also the government’s aviation investment arm with a 25 per cent stake in the Bugesera Airport, while 75 per cent is owned by Portuguese firm Mota-Engil.
The government said it wants to attract more investors in the Bugesera project, which is expected to become the country’s largest airport.
Mota-Engil began construction of Bugesera Airport in August 2017, but construction stalled after disagreements over the airport’s design.
Talking on the sidelines of the African CEO Summit in Kigali last month, Manuel Mota, the CEO of Mota-Engil Africa said that the project had stalled due to a mandatory redesign.
We are redesigning the project to cater for the change in traffic projections for RwandAir, said Mr Mota.
So far, more than $130 million has been injected in the project and the first phase of construction is estimated to cost $418 million.
The 2020 deadline for completion of the first phase of the airport is likely to be extended.
Since assuming power in 2013, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al has embarked on a series of tours and investments in Africa, and pledged to spend at least $800 million in development projects across the continent.
Before his Kigali visit, the Emir visited Kenya in 2017 and signed agreements for scientific research and assistance in higher education.
Whereas diplomatic relations between Qatar and Rwanda began as recently as 2017, the Gulf country has had ties with Kenya, East Africa’s biggest economy since 2003, when Kenya opened an embassy in Doha.
Qatar runs three embassies in the region, Kenya, Tanzania and South Sudan and 20 in other countries on the continent.
In November last year, a Qatari delegation visited Uganda that was headed by Sheikh Faisal bin Thani Al-Thani, the director of regional investment funds and investments in the mining sector were high on the agenda.
Uganda guaranteed tax and regulatory incentives to Qatari investors during that visit.
In March, Tanzanian President John Magufuli hosted the Qatar Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and signed agreements in air transport.
In January, Qatar pulled out of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, ending its 52-year membership.
Doha’s main interest in Africa for the past decade has been food imports.
In March 2018, Qatar and Sudan signed a $4 billion deal to jointly manage a Red Sea port.
Qatar Airways flies to 48 destinations in Africa.
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