Rezidor announces the Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre, Kigali, Rwanda
Rezidor has numerous hotels under development in major cities across Africa. In 2010 alone, the group plans the openings of Radisson Blu hotels in Johannesburg and Cape Town (South Africa), Lagos (Nigeria), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Maputo (Mozambique) and Lusaka (Zambia).
“This signing symbolizes the new optimism investors have in Rwanda, and further underlines our strong commitment to Africa – this emerging and promising continent is one of our key areas for future business development,” comments Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of Rezidor.
The new Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre, Kigali, Rwanda is a future landmark as part of a massive, mixed-use development in the Rwandan capital. Rezidor will oversee the hotel and convention centre. Besides 292 guest rooms, services will comprise six food and beverage outlets, a spa and fitness centre, an outdoor swimming pool, and boutique retail shops. The adjacent convention centre will have a net floor area of 32,000 square metres, which includes a multipurpose arena with a capacity of up to 2,600 delegates, seven sub-divisible conference rooms and 10 smaller meeting rooms.
The project is ideally located between the city centre and Kigali International Airport. The surrounding area is one of the most popular areas of the capital, in proximity to key government offices including the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court and Parliament.
Rwanda has made considerable strides since the 1994 genocide, with per capita income having nearly tripled since the early 1990s. The combination of a political commitment to free market economics, an ambitious privatisation programme, and good governance, has attracted international investment in the country. The 2010 World Bank Doing Business survey ranked Rwanda as the “Top Reformer” in the world in 2009. Long-term, Rwanda also offers tourism opportunities: “The Land of a Thousand Hills” and the “Land of the Eternal Spring” boasts incredible biodiversity, wildlife, and natural beauty. It is one of the few places in the world where tourists can track the famous mountain gorillas.
