The cost of constructing the Kigali Wholesale Market for Fresh Produce (KWMFP) has been revised upward to €47.5 million (about $53.4 million) following a new feasibility study, the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) has said.
The update was presented on January 22 by NAEB Chief Executive Officer Claude Bizimana during a session with the Parliamentary Committee on Governance and Gender Affairs, which was reviewing issues raised in the Office of the Ombudsman’s 2024/25 report, including high post-harvest losses in horticulture.
Bizimana told lawmakers that the new estimate represents a 56 per cent increase from the previous projection of $34.2 million, mainly due to changes in the project’s scope and location. The market site has been expanded from 6.4 hectares to 10.8 hectares within the Kigali Special Economic Zone, allowing for larger capacity and more advanced infrastructure.
Once completed, the facility is expected to handle up to 265,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually, significantly improving the handling of fruits and vegetables and reducing the country’s current post-harvest losses, which stand at about 30 per cent.
Financing for the project will be shared equally between the Government of Rwanda and development partners. Half of the funds will come from a loan from the OPEC Fund, while the remaining 50 per cent will be provided as a grant from the Netherlands through Invest International. Discussions are ongoing among the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, NAEB, OPEC and Invest International, with appraisal missions expected in February 2026, ahead of signing the financing agreements.
Construction is projected to begin once the financing is finalised and is expected to take between two and two-and-a-half years.
According to NAEB, the new wholesale market will operate as a modern, service-based facility designed to guarantee food safety, traceability and quality, while strengthening Rwanda’s cold chain, storage and logistics systems.
Currently, about 86 per cent of Kigali’s wholesale fresh produce passes through Nyabugogo, an area described as congested and lacking adequate hygiene standards, traceability and price transparency. The new market aims to address these shortcomings by improving trading conditions, reducing losses, enhancing food safety, supporting exports and creating jobs.
NAEB also noted that the facility will help increase farmers’ incomes by reducing the dominance of middlemen, who currently capture an estimated 70 per cent of the final value of fresh produce.
The project will be implemented in two phases: Phase I will focus on construction and key upstream and downstream investments over the first four years, while Phase II will concentrate on value addition.
