Kigali City Tower

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Kigali City Tower
Kigali City Tower is located in Rwanda
Kigali City Tower
Location within Rwanda
General information
LocationKigali, Rwanda
Address (KN 67 Street)
Coordinates1°56′36″S 30°03′35″E / 1.9433°S 30.0596°E / -1.9433; 30.0596Coordinates: 1°56′36″S 30°03′35″E / 1.9433°S 30.0596°E / -1.9433; 30.0596
Construction started2006
Completed2011 (2011)
CostUSD 20 million
Technical details
Floor count20
Design and construction
Main contractorChina Civil Engineering Construction

Kigali City Tower is a mixed use high rise office and retail building located in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. The complex consists of a 20-storey tower, the tallest in the country, a four-story commercial center and a car park block, with space divided between leased office space and retail outlets. Major retailers include supermarket Nakumatt, Bourbon Coffee and a four screen cinema.

The building, on the site of a former bus station, was developed by Rwandan businessman Hatari Sekoko and built by Chinese engineers. The building work began in 2006 and the complex opened in 2011.

History[]

Since his accession to power in 2000, President Paul Kagame has sought to transform Rwanda from an impoverished country dependent on subsistence agriculture into a middle income country with a strong service sector.[1] This policy, which is based on liberalising the economy, privatising state owned industries and reducing red tape for businesses,[2] has led to a strong GDP growth between 2004 and 2010 of 8% per year.[2] The changing economy has prompted a construction boom as the need for office and urban residential space has increased.[3]

The Kigali City Tower project was begun in 2006[4] by Rwandan businessman Hatari Sekoko, through his company Doyelcy Limited.[5] Sekoko, a Rwandan Patriotic Front veteran of the Rwandan Civil War,[6] worked in Japan from 1995 to raise capital,[7] before returning to Rwanda to start a coffee distribution business and later diversifying into real estate and hospitality.[6] The first phase of the project was the construction of the car park building, which began in 2007.[8] At that stage the tower was proposed as a circular building with a spiral design, which would act primarily as a viewing platform.[8] By 2008,[citation needed] Sekoko's team had changed the building's shape to elliptical in order to create more floor space within the tower.[6]

Sekoko contracted Chinese company China Civil Engineering Construction to construct the building,[9] and also sourced raw materials from his own depot in Guangzhou, China.[7] The building was completed in early 2011,[4] and retailers and companies began to occupy the space thereafter.[10] The three-screen Century Cinema complex was completed in March 2013 and opened in May 2013.[11]

Location and design[]

Kigali City Tower is on Avenue du Commerce, also known as KN 76 Street, in Nyarugenge District, which is the central business district of Kigali.[12] The building is on the site of the former central bus station, which was closed in 2005.[13]

The building consists of three components: the tower, which rises to 20 stories,[14] the 4-story commercial center, and a car parking block which is also 4 stories tall.[14] As of 2013 the tower is the tallest building in Kigali and Rwanda.[15][16] The total retail floor space is around 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft) while office space is 7,000 square metres (75,000 sq ft).[14]

The tower block is occupied mostly by office space, with only the ground, lower ground and top floors being retail.[17] Each floor of the tower has 336 square metres (3,620 sq ft) of office space available.[18]

Retail and entertainment[]

The largest retailer in the complex was a branch of the Kenyan supermarket chain Nakumatt, which occupied the ground and lower ground floors of the commercial centre,[19][20] as well as the ground floor of the car park building.[19] This was Nakumatt's second Kigali store, the other was in the .[21] South African clothing store Mr Price opened its first Rwandan branch in the complex in 2011, run by franchisee ,[22] while luxury coffee house Bourbon Coffee runs a cafe and outdoor seating area, one of its five outlets in the city.[23]

The third floor of the commercial center houses the Century Cinema complex.[11] The cinema has four screens: three regular screens with 233, 135, 70 seats respectively,[11] and a 4D film screen (marketed as 5D) which seats 18, the first of its kind in East Africa.[11] Other retail providers include a food court, on the first floor of the commercial centre,[24] a fitness center and a daycare nursery.[14]

Retail space within the tower consists of a bar/restaurant on the lower ground floor,[20] a branch of Bank of Kigali on the ground floor,[19] and a restaurant with roof top bar and nightclub on the top floor.[17]

References[]

  1. ^ Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN), Republic of Rwanda. "Rwanda Vision 2020". Archived from the original on 2012-09-15. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Murdock, Deroy (2010-12-13). "Rwanda's Economic Miracle". National Review. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  3. ^ "Kigali's real estate boom pulls investors as State moves to cut". Business Daily. Retrieved Apr 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Rwanda Express (2012-06-26). "Kigali City Tower, Rwanda's Image of Prosperity". Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  5. ^ The Independent (Uganda) (2012-01-11). "Top Business Leaders to Watch in 2012". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c The Independent (Uganda) (2009-04-27). "Hatari: Turning a big dream into reality". Archived from the original on 2014-07-16. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b The Asahi Shimbun (2012-07-19). "China rapidly expanding its presence in Africa". Archived from the original on 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Allet, Jean-Marc. "Kigali City Tower, février 2009". Panoramio. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  9. ^ Asiimwe, Bosco (2010-08-26). "$200m project launched in Kigali". Archived from the original on 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  10. ^ In2EastAfrica (2011-02-15). "Kigali City's tallest building to open in April". Archived from the original on 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Kagire, Edmund (2013-04-02). "Kigali ushers in region's first 5D movie theatre". Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  12. ^ Kigali City Tower. "Maps and Plans: Kigali Center Map". Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  13. ^ Mon Palais. "Rwanda : KIGALI CITY TOWER, Rwanda's IMAGE OF PROSPERITY". Archived from the original on 2017-08-21. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Kigali City Tower. "Powerful Opportunities: A new world of opportunity". Archived from the original on 2012-11-25. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  15. ^ Ntangura, Godfrey (2013-01-27). "Rwandans still need to get used to shopping malls". Rwanda Focus. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  16. ^ The New Times (2013-04-05). "Places to visit in Kigali City". Archived from the original on 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b Kigali City Tower. "Maps and Plans". Archived from the original on 2013-06-09. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  18. ^ Kigali City Tower. "Floor Plans: 5th to 17th Floors". Archived from the original on 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kigali City Tower. "Floor Plans: Ground Floor". Archived from the original on 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b Kigali City Tower. "Floor Plans: Lower Ground Floor". Archived from the original on 2012-07-04. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  21. ^ "Best Places To Go in Kigali - Page 4". www.uzaze.com. Retrieved Apr 18, 2020.
  22. ^ http://deacons.co.ke/site/about-deaconskenya-ltd/gallery/category/28--mr-price-kigali-store-opening-december-2011.html[permanent dead link]
  23. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-06. Retrieved 2013-05-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. ^ [1]
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