Members of Parliament have raised concerns over slow budget execution and delays in major infrastructure projects in the City of Kigali.
These projects include the Kigali Infrastructure Project (KIP), Rwanda Urban Development Project II (RUDP II), and the Nyabugogo Bus Terminal.
The concerns arose during parliamentary oversight visits to monitor the use of the state budget for the first six months of the 2025/2026 fiscal year.
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The exercise, running from January 12 to 23, is being led by the Parliamentary Committee on State Budget and Patrimony and aims to assess how public funds are being used and whether government-funded projects are delivering benefits to citizens.
Kigali Infrastructure Project (KIP)
MP Venuste Icyitegetse raised concerns over slow progress in road construction under KIP.
"Is it because the contractors have limited capacity, and where exactly is the problem that caused the projects to stall?" he asked.
Fulgence Dusabimana, City Vice Mayor in Charge of Urbanization and Infrastructure, said the delays were partly due to issues with contractors, one of whom failed to complete work. Rising costs of road construction materials also revealed budget gaps, requiring the engagement of new contractors.
"It was therefore necessary to engage contractors who had previously worked on similar projects, so they could complete the roads at the set budget without problems," Dusabimana said told the MPs.
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Out of the nine roads that were left unfinished, six are being worked on, while officials are to begin works for the remaining three projects, which had not yet properly started, Dusabimana added.
Rwanda Urban Development Project II (RUDP II)
MP Speciose Mukandanga also pointed to delays in RUDP II, particularly at the Gatenga site, one of the projects repeatedly flagged during parliamentary oversight visits. She noted that previous visits had identified expropriation challenges as a cause of delays.
"Now, with only one month remaining before the project deadline, we want to know if the funds will be fully utilized and the planned activities be completed," she said.
In response, Dusabimana said Phase Two of the project has reached 92 percent completion but remains behind schedule due to contractor challenges.
"The challenge we are facing is on the contractor's side, which is preventing them from strengthening their efforts to complete the works, submit invoices, and receive payment," he said.
He added that the City of Kigali continues to engage with contractors and provide support, but progress remains below expectations.
"There are efforts being made, but the results remain at a percentage that is not satisfactory compared to what we had hoped for. This is an issue we continue to discuss with them, as well as with the Ministry of Infrastructure."
Nyabugogo Bus Terminal
MPs also questioned delays in the Nyabugogo Bus Terminal project, urging the city to provide clear timelines for the construction.
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Initially, detailed designs of Nyabugogo Bus Terminal were expected to be ready by June 2026, with construction set to begin around August 2026 and last about three years.
The city's six-month performance report shows that more than three procurement tenders for the project faced challenges, mainly due to pending agreements between the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Bank of Kigali, which will finance the project.
Sheila Uwase, the Single Project Implementation Unit Coordinator in the City of Kigali, said the procurement process for contractors will take at least 10 months.
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"This means that by October 2026, a contractor could be selected, with construction expected to start in 2027," she said.
"In January 2027, the detailed engineering design will be carried out, and construction will commence with the winning contractor. The works are expected to take two years, meaning the terminal could be completed by 2029."
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The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on State Budget and Patrimony, Odette Uwamariya, said that although the city's budget execution rate has improved to 47 per cent from 42 per cent during the same period last year, greater effort is needed in the second half of the fiscal year.
"This shows that progress is being made. However, it also means that now that we are in the second half of the fiscal year, they need to accelerate the implementation of various projects," she said.
She warned that unused budget funds deny citizens the intended benefits and cannot be redirected to other projects.
