This Country Wants To Make History With Africa’s First Futuristic “Green City” Worth USD 4.5 Bn

This past weekend, the seed for Africa’s first futuristic city project — christened “Green City” — which is estimated to cost as much as USD 4.5 Bn, was sowed in Rwanda.

Green City will sit on a land area of about 620 hectares in Kinyinya, Gasabo District, in Kigali — the capital city of the small, landlocked East African country. And this first-of-its-kind project is another first on the continent for Rwanda; the same country that unveiled the first made-in-Africa smartphones and launched electric cars in the past couple of months.

Rwanda is set to have Africa’s first green city housing environmentally-friendly mini-factories, fully electric vehicles and environmentally sustainable affordable housing on 620 hectares in Kinyinya in Kigali. Development of the project will start in January 2020. #Rwanda #rwot pic.twitter.com/LoM1TIBNnA

— Publicity Africa (@pub_africa) October 2, 2019

Once fully built and functional, Rwanda’s Green City will integrate green building and design, efficient and renewable energy, recycling and inclusive living, homegrown solutions, and local construction materials.

If all goes according to plan, Rwanda will be home to Africa’s first green city, housing environmentally-friendly mini-factories, fully electric vehicles and environmentally sustainable affordable. The project will commence in January next year.

Also, an estimated 30,000 housing units will be developed to benefit around 150,000 people. And it comes as a plus that no one will be moved to make way for the development which is also billed to create at least 16,000 jobs.

The stakeholders on the project will hold consultations on all aspects of the idea that will not only contribute to conserving our environment.

Eudes Kayumba, Deputy Team Leader of the Green City Pilot, revealed that the city will be built to incorporate clean technologies, electric vehicles, electric bicycle and motorcycle lanes, renewable energy, sustainable waste treatment, biogas plants, and urban forests, as well as a system that prevents environmental degradation and air pollution.

On the subject of funding for the project, it was disclosed that all the money that would fuel the development will come from different stakeholders including the Rwanda Green Fund, KfW Development Bank, and the German Development Cooperation. Feasibility studies are currently underway.

With the Green City project, Rwanda is looking to further consolidate its position as the African capital for “green living.”

Currently, all non-biodegradable plastics are banned in Rwanda and the country has a monthly day of community cleaning service. In 2016, Rwanda even introduced car-free days. Earlier this year, it unveiled car-free zones to curb air pollution.

In 2019, Kigali was named Public Health Laureate in the Wellbeing City Awards by NewCities; a global non-profit committed to shaping a better urban future.