China will invest about $532 million in Rwanda this year, mainly targeting critical economic engines such as building roads and vocational schools, said Shu Zhan, Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda, in early February.

"We need to have adequate field surveys, wide consultation and detailed 'homework,' in order to come up with tailor-made solutions that meet local needs," Shu said in an interview with ChinAfrica.

Sharing experiences

Shu said there are now over 20 ongoing construction projects in the fields of roads, buildings, farms, electricity and water, with big regional projects like the Kigali Convention Center, being built by the Beijing Construction Engineering Group.

"I believe there will be more and more Chinese companies coming here, because the favorable investment climate, incorruptible government and other advantages are all attractions for foreign investment," he said.

Shu said China and Rwanda both share a similar historical background and China can help Rwandans learn how to reduce poverty and achieve food security. "The biggest similarity we have is our experience of having been colonized by foreign powers. However, it is our determination to build up our respective countries and to improve our peoples' livelihoods," he said.

"I had worked as a peasant in a poor area of China for five years. I fully understand the importance of soil and water conservation to higher yields of crops. And in the past decades, China has been terracing land on the slopes [of mountains]," said Shu.

Joseph Kabakeza, Director General for Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, said other major projects were lined up, including the Kigali Road network modernization where government had secured a concessional loan worth $30 million.

Some of the roads being rehabilitated includes, among others, the main airport boulevard that stretches from Kigali International Airport to the city center.

"Rwanda and China enjoy excellent relations since the establishment [of ties] in 1971. Today, this has been characterized not only by a number of bilateral cooperation projects in the framework of a Joint Permanent Commission, but also a number of high level visits," a memo from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation states.

According to the government memo, Rwanda also appreciates the following cooperation projects within the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) resolutions: an agricultural technology demonstration center, a polyclinic (construction in progress) and two primary schools (completed).

Rangira Bruno, Director of Media and Communication, Kigali City Council, said the rehabilitation of a 36-km road in Kigali was contracted to a renowned Chinese company, the China Road and Bridge Corp.

According to the contract, the rehabilitation works will be completed before June 2011.

"This project is responsible for the construction of the most durable roads, with two layers of tarmac and a lifespan of over 30 years," Bruno said recently responding to media questions.

Meanwhile, the government is constructing and rehabilitating several major roads of over 3,700 km across the country. It's expected that the works will cost about $1.7 billion and be completed in 2013.

Better offers

Recently, the Rwandan Minister of Infrastructure, Vincent Karega, said 50 percent of the costs would be raised by the government and the other half by development partners in the form of loans and grants.

"Tenders are not awarded based on bilateral relations, but Chinese companies provide better offers," Karega told ChinAfrica, adding that there are three Chinese companies involved in infrastructure, two in transport and one in energy.

These development partners include the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the Arab Development Bank. Infrastructure development is said to consume more than half of the national Rwanda budget. To safeguard the original investment, a Road Maintenance Strategy has been put in place to ensure that all newly constructed and rehabilitated roads are placed into a regular maintenance program.

When it comes to investment in road infrastructure, the government and development partners are still the main source of funds. However, government is encouraging public private partnership in the transport sector.

Rwanda is still challenged by an acute shortage of skilled local engineers and construction workers, especially artisans in vocational fields such as masons, bricklayers and metal workers.

In his article published in the local newspaper The New Times, former Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Sun Shuzhong said that under the framework of FOCAC, cooperation between China and Rwanda could readily achieve this type of rapid development.

(Reporting from Rwanda)