Yesterday, the The Minister of State in charge of Socio Economic Development in the Ministry of Local Government Mr Cyriaque Harelimana presided over the inauguration of the 8-in-1 Affordable Urban Housing Demonstration Block in Nyarugenge, Kimisagara Sector. Also present were Mayor of the City of Kigali, the Mayor of Nyarugenge District, the Swiss ambassador to Rwanda based in Nairobi and other officials. The Minister of state urged the beneficiaries of that housing block to take good care of it. He also requested the Private Sector, banks and real estate developers to invest in affordable housing to enable citizen get decent homes.

The 8-in-1 Affordable Housing Demonstration Block was designed and constructed within the framework of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation’s PROECCO Programme (Promoting off-farm employment and income through climate responsive construction material production), which aims at creating much-needed off-farm jobs in Rwanda’s building material and construction sectors.

Marie-Chantal Rwakazina, Mayor of the City of Kigali said: “With a demand of 300 new urban buildings and dwellings units per day, Kigali and other Rwandan cities need local building materials to replace the costly imports that contribute to high housing prices”.  “With PROECCO’s 8-in-1 house, we are proudly demonstrating that the Made in Rwanda brand can deliver good quality, affordable housing solutions at below 20 million FRW per unit.” She concluded

Speaking to participants, RALF Heckner, the Swiss Ambassador to Rwanda based in Nairobu reiterated: “PROECCO continues Switzerland’s longstanding commitment to support Rwanda in developing strong construction sector value chains that can generate employment and contribute to building safe and habitable cities for future generations”  

With more than 150 jobs created during its construction, the 8-in-1 House demonstrates the real potential of the sector to generate employment and deliver quality, affordable housing solutions made in Rwanda for Rwandans. 

The PROECCO project is a partnership between Switzerland and the Rwandan Government. Skat Consulting Ltd implements the project in cooperation with the Rwanda Housing Authority. The project acts as a construction industry facilitator, providing technical and advisory services to young Rwandan laborers and innovative entrepreneurs willing to pioneer the environment-friendly production of modern bricks, tiles and slab blocks to make Modern Brick walls and buildings affordable, strong and durable. Since 2013, the project has supported dozens of rural and peri-urban brick cooperatives, entrepreneurs and investors, and demonstrated a range of affordable and easy-to-operate industrial brick production technologies as well as highly affordable Modern Brick construction systems.

With 78% of Kigali’s population living in unplanned settlements and High Risk Zones, the compact design of the Demonstration Block responds to the unique planning and construction challenges associated with building in dense, urban environments by introducing cost-effective and para-seismic building solutions suitable for difficult terrains. Following this year’s violent rainy season, solutions like this are particularly relevant and timely.