Kigali City Tower

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.

Kigali City Tower
Location within Rwanda
General information
LocationKigali, Rwanda
AddressAvenue du Commerce (KN 67 Street)
Coordinates1.9433°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

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, 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 Union Trade Centre.[21] South African clothing store Mr Price opened its first Rwandan branch in the complex in 2011, run by franchisee Deacons Kenya,[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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  17. 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. Kigali City Tower. "Floor Plans: Ground Floor". Archived from the original on 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  20. 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%5B%5D
  23. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-06. Retrieved 2013-05-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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