On Saturday, Rwanda will break ground of Africa’s first futuristic city.
The city named Green City will be located on 620 hectares in Kinyinya, Gasabo District, Kigali City. The Green City Kigali project is expected to cost between $4-5 billion.
According to those behind the project, the futuristic city “… will integrate green building and design, efficient and renewable energy, recycling and inclusive living, homegrown solutions and local construction materials”.
The city will have environmentally-clean mini-factories, all-electric vehicles, environmentally sustainable affordable housing, and integrated craft production centres.
An estimated 30,000 housing units will be developed to benefit around 150,000 people. And the beauty of it all is that no one will be moved to give way to the development.
The stakeholders of the project will hold consultations on all aspects of the idea that will not only contribute to conserving our environment; it is also expected to create at least 16,000 jobs.
Eudes Kayumba, Deputy Team Leader of the Green City Pilot, disclosed that the city aims at having clean technologies, electric vehicles, electric bicycle and motorcycle lanes, renewable energy, sustainable waste treatment, biogas plants, and urban forests, among others, complete with a system that prevents environmental degradation and air pollution.
Kayumba says that the funding for the project will come from different stakeholders. The Rwanda Green Fund, with the financial support of the German Development Cooperation through the KfW Development Bank, is undertaking a feasibility study for the project.
Rwanda is already living as a green city and the Green City project will only make it greener.
In 2019, the City of Kigali which in 2016 introduced car-free days was crowned Public Health Laureate for 2019 Wellbeing City Award by NewCities, a global non-profit committed to shaping a better urban future, along with Novartis Foundation, Novartis US Foundation, and the City of Montréal.
All non-biodegradable plastics are banned in Rwanda and the country has a monthly day of community cleaning service.
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