Construction of the Bugesera International Airport in Rwanda’s Bugesera District continues to move forward as one of the country’s most ambitious infrastructure projects. The $2 billion airport, located roughly 40 kilometres south of Kigali, is being built to relieve pressure on the existing Kigali International Airport and to position Rwanda as a regional aviation and logistics hub.
The project began in August 2017 and has undergone phases of redesign, funding shifts and construction adjustments. Initially planned with a much smaller budget, the scope expanded over time following a 2019 agreement in which Qatar Airways took a 60 percent stake in the development. Under current plans, the airport will have a 130,000-square-metre main terminal capable of handling eight million passengers annually in its first phase. Once fully expanded by 2032, it is expected to accommodate more than 14 million passengers per year and handle 150,000 tonnes of cargo.
Officials report horizontal works such as runways, drainage and earthworks are substantially complete, and vertical construction of buildings is now under way. The government has allocated significant resources to sustain momentum, including hundreds of millions of dollars from the 2025/26 national budget and external financing. Completion of the first phase is targeted between 2027 and 2028, with full build-out continuing into the early 2030s.
Analysts note that the rising cost of the project has implications for Rwanda’s public finances, with the International Monetary Fund warning the investment could increase debt service pressures. Rwanda’s authorities maintain the project is strategic to long-term economic growth, tourism and trade objectives.