China-Africa: Rwanda calls for $770m fund injection
Rwanda is on the hunt for investors to pump up to $770 million into its construction industry and reap returns from surging demand for tiles, glass, cement.
The Rwanda Development Board is aiming to lure investors to pour funds into the one of the fastest growing construction industries in the country - product manufacturing.
“Rwanda is currently the largest importer of construction materials in the region. This is because we have few manufacturers in the industry yet according to last year, the construction industry is growing by 16 percent,” said Rosemary Mugisha Mbabazi, the RDB acting director general for investment promotion.
Mbabazi cited the example of Cement where CIMERWA, the country’s sole cement manufacturer has an annual output worth US $100m but imported cement is also worth the same amount, which is a clear sign of shortages.
“To address this shortfall, we have identified key areas of possible investment worth US $600m and we will encourage investors to invest here because the returns are massive since the demand of materials such as tiles, glass, cement and others is very high,” she explained.
The Republic of Rwanda, a small landlocked country in east-central Africa, is home to over 10 million people who mostly engage in subsistence agriculture.
The country’s major export markets include China, Germany and the US.
Ruth Liew
(financialstandard.com.au)
Tags: Rwanda