RWANDA: Marasa Africa Buys Umubano Hotel, Commences Renovation

Marasa Africa, a subsidiary of the Madhvani Group, has started rehabilitation of 100-room Marasa Umubano Hotel in Kigali.

The first phase of the project will cost over Rwf8.5 billion ($10 million), and is expected to be completed after six months.

We plan to complete the entire façade renovation except the ground in the next six months.

The refurbishment will happen sequentially and in a very systematic way, which will help us to operate the hotel and as well carry out the renovations, said Parasuramn Eswar, director of corporate affairs at Madhivani Group.

Marasa Africa bought Umubano Hotel on April 1, 2017 from the government of Rwanda at $20 million after it was reposed from Libyan government, which owned majority stake in the hotel but failed to renovate it for years.

Officials who closely followed the liquidation process of Umubano Hotel after the time Libyans were kicked out of the business say the value of the hotel was $49 million, but government settled for less.

TripAdvisor the largest travel site at one time said: besides the need to paint outside walls of the hotel, the façade and the curtains are greying behind old windows and soviet style concrete balconies.

Tour operators are optimistic that the strategic location of Marasa Hotel, near Kigali Convention Centre its site in Kacyiru will help the new investor attract clients.

The ongoing major facelift will lift Marasa Umubano’s standing on the market.

The Marasa Umubano rivals in the industry are Four Star Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, Lemigo Hotel, Gorilla Golf, Ubumwe Grande Hotel, Lake Kivu Serena, Nyamata’s Hotel Golden Tulip La Palisse and Hotel des Mille Colline.

Increased numbers of quality hotels has seen Rwanda attract more international and regional conferences.

According to Rwanda Convention Bureau, a government arm promoting events and tourism, last year, over 169 conferences attended by 28,306 international delegates were hosted.

Officials at the bureau said the outlook of the conference tourism remains positive.

This year, they bureau projects that at least 123 conferences will be hosted, each with 500 delegates who will generate at least Rwf63 billion ($74 million).

The growing supply in hotel rooms in Rwanda has resulted in price wars, especially by new entrants on the market to attract clients, a development he said is not sustainable.

Mr Eswar said during the first phase, the front façade outer side of the hotel is to be refurbished.

This is to address the element of elegance to the strong edifice with a new drop off canopy at entrance, vertical wooden fins in the balconies at all floors, said Mr Eswar.

The basement, kitchen, plant room, ground floor andreception will be rehabilitated.

The conference rooms, meeting rooms, bar & restaurant, entrance Porche, guest rooms and Corridors from first to fifth floor shall also be refurbished.

Madhvani also plans to build a new health club abutting the Pool bar which will house gym, aerobic space, spa, steam, sauna and adequate wash & change rooms and Teppanyaki Restaurant.

Uganda's Madhvani Group has acquired the Umubano Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda for $20 million.

The East African nation had been seeking an investor to acquire the property for the past four years. The Libyan government, which owned the majority stake in the hotel, failed to renovate it.

Parasuramn Eswar, corporate affairs director at the Madhvani Group, said that the company now owns the hotel outright, and will oversee renovation.

Company officials are currently doing due diligence ahead of the full take-over next month.

Madhvani, which also owns Kabuye Sugar Works in the Kigali's neighborhood, wanted to invest in the country's tourism sector, Eswar said.

This could be a smart move: According to the Rwanda Development Board, tourist arrivals in the country have increased from 1.26 million in 2014 to 1.3 million in 2015.

This led to a surge in the earnings from $305 million to $318 million during the same period.

With the Umubano Hotel, Madhvani now owns eight hospitality properties. The company owns four hotels in Uganda - Silver Back Lodge, Mweya Safari Lodge, Chobe Safari Lodge, and Paraa Safari Lodge and three in Kenya - Aberdare Country Club, The Ark, and Mara Leisure Camp.


Tourism Observer

RWANDA: RwandAir To Commence Kigali To London Flights On 26th May 2017

RwandAir will launch the first non-stop flight from the UK to Rwanda, one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in Africa, on May 26th.

Operating three times a week from London Gatwick to the Rwandan capital Kigali, the service offers easy access for UK passengers.

The flights, on a new Airbus A330-200, will offer travellers Business, Premium Economy and Economy cabins three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

The flight time is eight hours 40 minutes.

Passengers travelling on the new RwandAir service in Business Class will be able to take advantage of fully-flat beds and convenient overnight flights.

British travellers are among the top five nationalities to visit Rwanda, which welcomed 1.3 million people last year.

They’re attracted by the incredible scenery, the opportunity for a unique experience visiting mountain gorillas and big game safari.

The recent arrival of black rhinos in the country means that Rwanda is now offering one of the best safari experiences in Africa.

Travellers can explore Rwanda’s diverse ecosystems in its three national parks.

Volcanoes National Park, along the Congo border, is famed for its mountain gorillas but also home to the endangered golden monkey.

RwandAir’s new Airbus 330 which will operate the London Gatwick to Kigali service

The chief tourism officer at the Rwanda Development Board, Belise Kariza, commented: “Rwanda has seen a transformation in recent years and is now becoming one of the most sought-after destinations for premium travellers.

With the new non-stop RwandAir flights to Kigali, and the opening of several premium lodges, Rwanda will be making a big impact as a must-visit country.” 


The newly opened Kigali Convention Centre is also driving the transformation of Kigali into a hub for Meetings, Incentive Conferences and Exhibitions.

Rwanda has been named the third best MICE destination in Africa and will also host the World Travel Awards Africa Gala Ceremony in October.

Meanwhile,the latest G650 has taken off from Savannah, Georgia, and headed to the Chinese coastal city of Tianjin to join the fleet of Deer Jet.

This G650 becomes the first private jet of its class registered in mainland China.

Frank Fang, vice president of Deer Jet, said: “We are very honoured to take over the management and operation of the very first G650 registered in China.

“To date, Deer Jet owns three licences to operate a fleet of 90 aircraft worldwide, with two thirds of the jets as managed fleet.

“This new addition demonstrates Deer Jet’s unparalleled 22-years of safety records and operational excellence, in recognition for the company’s global operations capabilities.

“Once again, Deer Jet built a milestone for China’s and the global business aviation industry.

“We created the first private jet company of China, operated the first G450 and G550 in China, and became the first company to operate ultra-long range BBJ and ACJ series in China.

“And most recently, we added to our managed fleet the world’s first BBJ 787.”

The addition of the new G650 marks the start of Deer Jet’s 2017 ambitious plan to further expand its managed fleet.

Already ten more G650/G650ER series are expected to join Deer Jet’s fleet in the near future.

RWANDA: $413 Bugusera Airport Opening December 2018

Construction of the highly anticipated Bugesera International Airport is scheduled to start in June next year, following the signing of an agreement between the government and Mota Engil Engenharia e Construcao Africa, a Portuguese firm in sectors of civil construction, port operations and logistics.

The two parties signed the agreement last evening at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.

The agreement was signed between the recently formed Aviation Travel and Logistics Holdings Limited (ATL) -on behalf of the government- and Manuel Mota, the Chief Executive of the firm.

The pact will see Mota Engil Africa finance and construct the airport with a completion date of December 2018 and later run the facility’s operations for the next 25 years with option to extend by 15 years.

This means that the government will not incur costs to put up the facility while their new partner will recoup their investment by running operations.
Mota said that the first phase which is expected to deliver a facility of international standards with a capacity of about 1.7 M passengers per year will incur an investment of USD 418M.

Upon completion of the first phase in December 2018, Mota said that they will commence further expansion which will increase the airport’s capacity to 4.5 million passengers per year, costing and additional USD 400M bringing the total cost to USD 818M.
Aware of the tight deadline to complete the facility of about 28 months, Mota termed it as a ‘fast-track project.’

“The ground breaking will be in June next years as it awaits securing finance but before that we will be having starting some preparatory works in partnership with the government,” Mota said.

The Minister for Infrastructure James Musoni empasised the urgency for the new, modern and large facility that can accommodate the growing air traffic as Rwanda was developing into a conference and business hub.

“More than ever, we need an airport that can match the growth,” Musoni said.
He expressed confidence in the firm saying they had performed well in a project to expand the Kigali International Airport.

He allayed fears that the airport project was could experience delay completion as was experienced during the construction of the Kigali Convention Centre saying that offered lessons to the government on the undertaking of large projects.

The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Claver Gatete said that the preference of the Public Private Partnership model as opposed to borrowing was to speed up the development and to increase its profitability.

“Usually the government has been investing heavily from the money from taxes, loans and grants. But then we have reached a level we need to develop faster. Whenever we do business in joint venture together with the private sector, we can achieve much more with less. That is how we can grow faster. For the projects that are more income generating and are profitable, we always want to give a chance to the private sector,” Gatete said.

He said that by working closely with the private sector, the government gives comfort to the investors on the viability of the project.

He confirmed that much of the expropriation of people living in the area set aside for the airport had been done and the few remaining people were in the process of being compensated.

The government confirmed that the process was substantially complete with about 10 households who had trouble with their documentation still pending.

13 people among the group compensated were said to have incomplete bank accounts causing their payments to bounce back to the government accounts however, their money had been moved to the district accounts awaiting the readiness of their accounts.

The investment which was termed by the Rwanda Development Board Chief Executive Francis Gatare as a vote of confidence in the economy and the development of the country is largely expected to boost the growth of the aviation industry.

Jean Paul Nyirubutama, the acting Chief Executive of the recently formed Aviation Travel and Logistics Holdings Limited (ATL) allayed fears that the airline business across the country was slowing down saying that it was just a temporary headwind largely brought about by the economic situations.

“The industry across the continent might be going through headwinds which are just temporary induce by the general economic situation in Africa, but all in all airlines in African are set to growing given that the continent is the next frontier when it comes to aviation and the growth rate is high enough to accommodate carriers in Africa,” Nyirubutama said.

He said that the national carrier, RwandAir was positioning itself for growth by diversifying the market is serves and exploiting underserved areas in Africa.

Today, RwandAir will make its inaugural flight to Benin as part of the diversification effort.

Aviation Travel and Logistics Holdings Limited (ATL) is a holding company recently approved by cabinet to oversee management of RwandAir, Airports and Akagera Aviation training facilities.

RWANDA: Kigali Convention Centre

Kigali Convention Centre (KCC), was inaugurated July 8.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the complex, yesterday, President Paul Kagame acknowledged that although the project had encountered multiple failures, the Rwandan spirit of perseverance had led to success.

The building, the President said, is a "true testimony of the Rwandan spirit; we failed not once, not twice, may be three times, but on the fourth attempt we succeeded."

"True to Rwandan spirit, we failed many times but we have succeeded many more times than we have failed. We keep learning from our failures and we finally succeed," Kagame added.

The final success of the project, Kagame says, was prompted by many factors, including the opportunity to host the 27th African Union (AU) Summit, in Kigali.

Kagame thanked the AU Commission chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who was also in attendance, and the entire commission for trusting "Rwanda's spirit" and choosing Rwanda to host the AU Summit.

Kagame attributed the completion of the Kigali Convention Centre to the pressure of the opportunity to host the AU Summit.

Constructed on 12.6-hectare piece of land in Kimihurura Sector, Gasabo District, the Kigali Convention Centre is one of the largest in the region with a capacity to host more than 5,000 participants.

Valued at over $300 million (about Rwf223 billion), the project is owned by a consortium of investors, including the Government that is represented by Prime Holdings, Rwanda Social Security Board, Crystal Ventures Limited and Rwanda Investment Group.

The holding company is Ultimate Developers Limited.

The facility will be operated by international hotel chain, Radisson Blu, under a brand name, Radisson Blu Hotel and Convention Centre, Kigali.

The facilities include the main auditorium that can host up to 2,500 people, plus several other meeting rooms, as well as an office park.

It will also comprise the five-star Radisson Blu hotel with 292 rooms. These include 209 standard rooms, four accessible rooms, 68 business rooms, five junior suites, five diplomatic suites, and one elegant royal suite.

Speaking at the inauguration, the Minister for Infrastructure, James Musoni, explained that the Government is the majority shareholder in the project. He also noted that the completion of the project "marks a great milestone in the service industry in our country."

The minister commended the Turkish firm that constructed the facility, which he said within just a year, "made the project that had almost turned into an impossible dream a reality."

Construction works were completed by Summa, a Turkish engineering firm.

Rwanda aims to become a regional Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Events (MICE) destination, and the facility is seen as a timely boost to the already-thriving effort.

In 2015 alone, MICE revenue grew from $29.6 million (about Rwf23 billion) to $37.7 million (about Rwf29 billion)-and the opening of the centre is predicted to pull a number of major events into the country.

The convention centre provides space, atmosphere, technology, and catering facilities for events of all kinds and sizes -concerts, conventions -for health, finance, or economy, regional and international summits, sports events, 3D cinema, film festivals, exhibitions and trade fares, official receptions, or private events like weddings.

According to Denis J. Dernault, the general manager of Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre, Kigali, the facility employs over 400 people, 98 per cent of them Rwandans.

More than 40 per cent of the permanent staff are women, he said.

President Kagame also spoke out on what inspired the dome that is the main edifice of the facility, which he says draws inspiration from the life many Rwandans lived until not so many years ago.

The main events venue is set under a transparent dome that was inspired by traditional Rwandan hut construction, while Radisson Blu hotel has multi-coloured bands, which represent the ancient Rwandan baskets.

President Kagame praised the architectural design, describing it as a mixture of "Rwandan culture and modernity."

"This facility; the conference centre and the hotel and are truly Rwanda," he said, adding "if you saw the dome-many of us were born and housed in a small house like that dome. It has that cultural and emotional attachment.

"I am very happy that, today, we stand here to celebrate the immense work that has put up this. We can proudly look back at those challenging moments as we look forward to hosting the AU summit... . what remains is for us Rwandans and the friends of Rwanda to make good use of it."

The AU summit, which is the inaugural function due to be held at the centre, is expected to start on Sunday, July 10 and later next week, several heads of state are expected in the country for the summit and other meetings organised on the sidelines.