Solar-powered Kiyovu tower shows rehousing model drawing investors to Kigali
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A 14-storey, solar-powered apartment building rising in Kigali's Kiyovu neighbourhood on land once occupied by two households shows how the rehousing model is creating opportunities for private investors.
A 14-storey apartment building with solar panels on its rooftop is being constructed in Kigali's Kiyovu neighbourhood on land previously occupied by two households, highlighting how the rehousing model could help address the city's unplanned settlements while creating opportunities for private investors.
The development will provide about 93 housing units for 93 households, with each unit measuring between 200 and 300 square metres. The units will have a combined floor area of about 18,000 square metres, on a plot where the two households previously lived measuring 2,800 square metres, according to Chinese real estate investor Linda Lai, who is behind the project.
The building will have 12 floors above ground and two dedicated parking floors, offering studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments, as well as a penthouse on the top floor. The solar-powered penthouse will feature a rooftop swimming pool and a garden capable of hosting up to 300 visitors, and wastewater will be treated and reused.
The mixed residential and commercial development, located about three minutes from Kigali City Hall and seven minutes from the Kigali Convention Centre, will include a restaurant, supermarket, meeting rooms, a gym, home theatre and centralised concierge services.
The project is one example of the implementation of the rehousing model, which is intended to support vertical housing development and the upgrading of unplanned settlements, as Kigali looks to private capital to accelerate urban renewal.