Rwanda’s under-construction Bugesera International Airport project has received further financial support through a reverse guarantee issued by African Trade, Investment and Development Insurance (ATIDI).
On July 9, ATIDI announced that it had approved a counter-guarantee of US$84 million to support the issuance and guarantee of more than US$322 million in bonds by a group of local banks. This guarantee was extended to the joint venture of contractors undertaking the construction of the airport.
A team from Qatar’s UrbaCon Trading & Contracting (UCC), Portugal’s Mota-Engil and Greece’s Consolidated Contractors Company is carrying out the US$2 billion superstructure work for the airport, with the first phase expected to be completed by mid-2028.
ATIDI’s guarantee will support three regional banks, including BPR Bank of Rwanda, Bank of Kigali and Development Bank of Rwanda, who will benefit directly from ATIDI’s risk mitigation and will be able to issue guarantees above the single obligor limit (SOL). The risk mitigation provided by ATIDI relieves banks of capital while ensuring smooth execution of infrastructure plans.
BPR Bank acts as the delegated lead arranger and facility agent on behalf of the Contractor. The bank is leading a financing consortium that includes KCB Bank Kenya, which joined the syndicate without relying on ATIDI’s guarantee.
ATIDI’s approval follows the announcement in June that the government will allocate CHF701.8 billion (US$485.7 million) in the category of stocks and investment fund shares for the construction of airport projects in the 2025-26 budget.
Developed by the Rwandan government in collaboration with the Qatari government, Bugesera Airport is considered crucial in accelerating Rwanda’s national strategy to become an upper-middle income country by 2035 and a high-income economy by 2050. The airport is also aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework, which facilitates the free movement of goods, services and people between the continents.
Bugesera Airport is located 25 km south of Kigali International Airport and the capital and is being built in two phases over an area of 2,500 hectares. Once the first phase is completed, it will have a 4.2 km runway and the capacity to handle 8.2 million passengers and 150,000 tons (t/y) of cargo per year. When the second phase is completed by 2032, the airport will be able to handle 14 million passengers and 300,000 tonnes of cargo annually.
Mota Engil is believed to have carried out the airport’s leveling works at a cost of €250.5 million (US$272 million). Construction on this project began in 2017.
In December 2019, Qatar Airways, the flag carrier of Qatar, signed an investment partnership agreement with the Rwandan government for the construction, ownership and operation of an airport, acquiring a 60% stake in Bugesera Airport Company.
Bugesera Airport is seen as central to the Rwandan government’s ambitions to make Rwanda a regional aviation hub in East Africa by transforming Kigali into a key transport and logistics hub, strengthening connectivity across Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and complementing investment in national carrier Rwanda Air.
Source: Investor Presentation, April 2025
Above photo: Conceptual drawing of Bugesera Airport (source: government)
