Kagame to Showcase Rwanda's Market Potential at London Business Summit, Reports KT Press

    LONDON, ENGLAND, October 20, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- With projects worth billions of dollars in foreign investment, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame is in London for a two-day global business summit.

The Global African Investment Summit (TGAIS) is due 20-21st October 2014 at the SAVOY Hotel in London, UK. President Kagame is leading a high-level Rwandan delegation, hoping to tap from the billion dollar multi-nationals and equity firms at the event.

Rwanda already has a blue-print for a new $700mn international airport, to be located about 25 km from Kigali, the capital. It must be complete in three years.

The airport is part the plan to position the country as a top leisure and tourism destination, as well as a mining and manufacturing hub. Various international carriers now fly the Kigali route including Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, KLM, SN Brussels and FlyDubai.

Rwanda is also seeking at least $5bn to fund energy projects for the next seven years - to reach 1000MW. Currently, Rwanda has about 120MW of electricity, and urgently needs double - to sustain growth at 7%.

The country is looking at methane gas - which currently has some $370m worth of investments from American firms. One of the several peat-to-power energy projects has attracted Turkish investment of about $80m, and is due for completion.

As for solar, Rwanda with its all year round sunshine, has attracted Israeli investment with a $23m 8.5MW plant, in addition to another that has been around for over 7 years.

The government has partnered with Korea Telecom to setup a 4G network across the country, due for completion in two years. Nokia Corporation has been contracted to manage the system.

At the London Summit, President Kagame will speak on the panel: 'REALIZING AFRICA'S INVESTMENT POTENTIAL' along with Uganda president Yoweri Museveni and President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana.

Around 136 bankable projects worth a combined total of $246Bn will be presented at the summit, according to Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria and chairman of the event.

Meanwhile, away from the summit, Kagame will be hosted at Chatham House, UK's leading think-tank, on the evening of 21st October. He will discuss his vision for Rwanda, building on its development gains, and its regional and international priorities, said Chatham House in a statement.

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