Rwanda’s under-construction Bugesera International airport project has received a further financing boost through a counter-guarantee issued by African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI).

On 9 July, ATIDI announced it had approved a US$84 million counter-guarantee to support the issuance of more than US$322 million in bonds and guarantees by a group of local and regional banks, which have been extended to the joint venture of contractors undertaking the airport’s construction.  

A team of Qatar's UrbaCon Trading & Contracting (UCC), Portugal’s Mota-Engil and Greece’s Consolidated Contractors Company are executing the superstructure works on the US$2 billion airport, the first phase of which is expected to be completed by mid-2028.

ATIDI’s cover will support three local banks including BPR Bank Rwanda, Bank of Kigali and the Development Bank of Rwanda, which will benefit directly from ATIDI’s risk mitigation, enabling them to issue guarantees beyond their single obligor limits (SOL). The de-risking provided by ATIDI will offer the banks capital relief while ensuring smoother execution of infrastructure schemes.

BPR Bank is acting as the mandated lead arranger and facility agent on behalf of the contractors. The bank is leading the lending consortium, which includes KCB Bank Kenya, which participated in the syndicate without relying on ATIDI’s guarantee.

ATIDI’s approval follows on from the government’s announcement in June that it would allocate Rwandan franc 701.8 billion (US$485.7 million) in its 2025-26 budget for the airport project’s construction under the category of equity and investment fund shares.

Jointly developed by the government of Rwanda in partnership with the Qatari government, Bugesera airport is considered vital to accelerating Rwanda’s national strategy to become an upper-middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income economy by 2050. The airport is also aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework, facilitating the free movement of goods, services and people across the continent.

Bugesera airport is located 25km south of Kigali International airport and the capital city, and is being built in two phases across an area of 2,500 hectares. It will have a 4.2km runway and the capacity to handle 8.2 million passengers and 150,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of cargo annually once phase one is finished. Following the completion of phase two by 2032, the airport will be able to handle 14 million passengers and 300,000 t/y of cargo.

Mota Engil is understood to have carried out the horizontal works for the airport at a cost of €250.5 million (US$272 million). Construction began on the project in 2017.

Qatari flag carrier Qatar Airways signed an investment partnership agreement to build, own and operate the airport with the government of Rwanda in December 2019, taking a 60% stake in Bugesera Airport Company.

Bugesera airport is viewed as central to the Rwandan government’s ambition to make the country a regional aviation hub in East Africa by transforming Kigali into a critical transit and logistics hub, enhancing connectivity across Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and complementing investment in national carrier RwandAir.

Top photo: Rendering of Bugesera airport (Source: Government)