The lower chamber of Parliament on November 13, approved a $23.6 million (approx. Rwf29 billion) loan agreement to set up a Centre of Excellence for Aviation Skills (CEAS).
It will serve as an aviation academy training centre to meet the demand for qualified human capital in the industry, according to officials.
It will do that by producing aviation personnel, including pilots and experts, with international accreditation, including that from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Uzziel Ndagijimana.
The loan agreement was signed on October 16 between the government of Rwanda and the African Development Bank (AfDB) which committed the financing.
It will be repaid within 40 years, which start being counted after 10 years (of grace period), and it is charged at an interest rate of 1 per cent, Ndagijimana indicated.
He said that the project is in line with contributing to Rwanda's air transport sector.
On October 19, 2023, the African Development Bank Group announced that its Board of Directors approved - on September 29 of the same year - the loan mentioned above for the construction and equipment of a new aviation training facility in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.
The proposed site is close to other related structures, connecting project components to Kigali International Airport's existing services and facilities, it added.
It is expected to boost Rwanda's ambition to become a regional aviation hub and draw international investment from the aviation industry, AfDB indicated, adding that it aligns with the country's Vision 2050 to improve human capital by providing high-quality training, upskilling labour, and transforming the workforce for higher productivity.
The Centre is expected to enrol up to 500 students starting from 2025 when it becomes partly operational, according to AfDB.
The facility will offer training for pilots, maintenance and cabin crew. It will also provide drone piloting training, flight simulator recurrent training, and other advanced pilot training for specialised missions.
AfDB pointed out that industry watchers estimate that Africa needs over 50,000 aviation professionals in the next two decades, including 15,000 pilots, 17,000 technicians and 23,000 cabin crew members.
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Nnenna Nwabufo, the Bank's Director General for East Africa, said the Centre will enable opportunities for skills building for the youth in Rwanda and across the East Africa region.
"Overall, the project aligns with the Bank's Skills for Employability and Productivity in Africa Action Plan, which stipulates ways of elevating the skills level of Africa's workforce," Nwabufo observed.
MP Pierre-Claver Rwaka said that the development is good news for Rwanda to be able to train aviation personnel domestically, pointing out that it was costly to send them abroad to acquire the needed skills.
MP John Ruku-Rwabyoma said that "the project symbolises Rwanda's uniqueness and it is not only coming to support Rwanda alone but also to bring a change to the current situation in Africa."
He indicated that it is in line with RwandAir's plan to connect Africa.
Ndagijimana said that the project is very important.
"As we are a landlocked country, building capacity in air transport is crucial," he said, pointing out it is strategic and helpful to do that through airport expansion or construction, increasing flights and routes as well as having a hub to train competent aviation staff.
Meanwhile, it was expected that the project would cost an estimated $53.5 million, according to an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report on the Aircraft Hangar and Centre of Excellence Aviation Training Centre Project, by Akagera Aviation, dated May 2023.
Minister Ndagijimana told The New Times that the secured funding ($23.6 million) is enough to cater for the planned activities including the construction of buildings, equipment provision, and developing programmes (and curricula) that meet international standards.
However, he said that if the centre expands, the government will look for more funding for it.
