RWANDA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Jean Pierre Kesteloot and Penina Ngabire, Liedekerke Great Lakes
ed by a Portuguese company called Mota Engil. The next phase mainly concerns vertical works (vertical building constructions, testing and commissioning), and is expected to begin in July 2025. This phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2027–2028. The facility will also feature a dedicated cargo ter - minal, capable of accommodating 150,000 tonnes of cargo a year. A Remedy to Africa’s Lack of Connectivity Rwanda’s ambitions with this project extend far beyond its borders. The construction of the new air - port not only aims to strengthen connections between Rwanda and the rest of the world, but also to strength - en connections between African countries, which are currently insufficient. Despite boasting 20% of the world’s land area and 17% of the world’s population, Africa captures less than 4% of the global air market. This discrepancy is mainly due to high operating costs and the lack of connections between African countries, which means that passengers often have to travel via Europe or the Middle East when flying between two African coun - tries. As a result, flight tickets are often very expen - sive, and even prohibitive for many. To tackle this problem, the African Union (AU) is counting on two flagship projects on its Agenda 2063: the Single Aircraft Transport Market (SAATM) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). With its new airport, Rwanda is positioning itself as a key player in the changes to come. SAATM In 1999, 44 African countries signed the Yamous - soukro Decision, the main objective of which is to liberalise air transport in Africa. In 2015, after more than 15 years without any tangible progress, the Assembly of Head of State and Government of the AU reaffirmed its commitment to realise the objec - tives of the Yamoussoukro Decision. Among them, 11 African countries, including Rwanda, called for the immediate implementation of the Yamoussoukro Deci - sion towards the establishment of a single African air transport market by 2017.
In 2018, the AU eventually launched the Single Aircraft Transport Market (SAATM). The SAATM aims to create a single, unified air transport market in Africa to better connect African countries with each other, which in turn will play a pivotal role in enhancing social, politi - cal and economic integration across the continent. According to a 2014 survey of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), if just 12 key Africa coun - tries opened their markets and increased connectivity, an extra 155,000 jobs and USD1.3 billion in annual GDP would be created in those countries. To date, 35 countries, including Rwanda, have signed up to the SAATM. AfCFTA In March 2018, 44 AU member states signed the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (the “AfCFTA Agreement”) in Kigali, Rwanda. The pur - pose of this agreement is to create a single market for goods and services across Africa, to allow the free movement of people and investment, and to create a continental customs union. The AfCTA Agreement entered into force on 30 May 2019. In October 2022, the AfCFTA successfully launched the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI), which establishes preferential trade among eight member states (Cam - eroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania and Tunisia) for 96 identified commodities, including ceramic tiles, tea, coffee, processed meat products, corn, sugar and pasta. The first shipments under the GTI to benefit from AfCFTA Certificate of Origin included Rwanda’s instant coffee and Kenya’s batteries destined for Ghana. So far, the AfCFTA Agreement has been signed by 54 countries and ratified by 46 countries, including Rwanda. However, fully implementing the AfCFTA Agreement will not be an easy task as all parties will need to agree on reducing tariffs and harmonise national legislation to support trade facilitation. Rwanda’s pivotal role With its strategic location in the heart of Africa and its new airport, Rwanda can rapidly become a true air transport hub and help Africa solve its connectivity issues. And that is no mean feat for a continent where
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