Rwanda plans tannery park
Kigali, Rwanda – According to an article in The New Times on 08 April, Rwanda is to establish a tannery park, including a centralised effluent treatment plant, to service more than 1 tannery.
The planned tannery park is to be in the Bugesera Industrial Zone, about 50 kilometres from Kigali.
The Times reported that the Leather Value Chain Project will have a $1 million budget funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) through the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA).
“According to Christian Twahirwa, the director general of Industry and Entrepreneurship at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, this initiative seeks to attract both domestic and foreign investors, fostering a vibrant ecosystem in innovation and entrepreneurship,” it reported.
“Twahirwa noted that the National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA) has conducted studies in green tannery technology aimed at reducing water waste and improving efficiency in leather processing.”
Rwanda’s existing tannery, Kigali Leather Ltd, is situated in Bugesera.
According to the business portal https://lin-eastafrica.com/community/, Kigali Leather occupies 70,000 m² and “has more than 20 Chinese technician, and more than 180 local staff, and mainly produces wet blue leather from cow hides, sheep skin, [for export] to China mainland, India, Arabia countries and Europe countries.”
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