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Day 3 of the Rwanda Green Growth Week – Sustainable Built Environment: Opportunities and Challenges

Minister of State in charge of Transport, Jado Uwihanganye launching membership of the Rwanda Green Building Organization (RwGBO)

Kigali, December 6, 2017 – As a part of the ongoing flagship event on green growth – Rwanda Green Growth Week – Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) and the Rwanda Green Building Organization (RwGBO) organized an event on “Sustainable Built Environment: Opportunities and Challenges”.

Speaking during the opening plenary, Eric Serubibi, Director General of RHA thanked GGGI in his welcome remarks for providing technical assistance to develop the Rwanda Green Building Minimum Compliance guidelines. Following the opening session, Harouna Nshimiyimana, Division Manager – Building Regulation, Inspection and Audits Division at RHA presented the progress made on the Green Building Minimum Compliance Guidelines,   developed with the support of Building Construction Authority (BCA) Singapore, Rwanda Green Building Organization (RwGBO) along with GGGI. The Green Building Minimum Compliance is planned to be launched in early 2018, and will be mandated for medium to large-scale buildings in Rwanda.

The green building guidelines is part of the implementation of the government’s green growth strategy as well as  the recommendations from the National Roadmap for Green Secondary City Development.

The highlight of the event was  the launch of membership to the Rwanda Green Building Organization  by the Minister of State in charge of Transport, Honorable Jado Uwihanganye. In his special address, the  Honorable Minister called upon the building and construction industry stakeholders to start incorporating green building and construction practices in Rwanda and applauded the efforts taken by RHA with the support of stakeholders to integrate sustainability in the construction sector through the green building minimum compliance system.

The RwGBO was established in partnership with RHA, GGGI and the Rwanda Institute of Architects (RIA) and BCA of Singapore in 2016 with the aim of developing  the capacity of building designers and practitioners and raising awareness among stakeholders on the benefits of green buildings. The launch of the RwGBO is also one of the outcomes of GGGI Rwanda’s CPF.

The event included several presentations on green buildings by practitioners, development partners and green building material manufacturers. In addition, a panel discussion was organized on ‘Sustainable Built Environment: The Role of the Construction Sector for Green Growth’ moderated by Innocent Kabenga, Country Representative of GGGI. Panelists included the Director General of RHA, the Director General of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), the President of Institute of Engineers Rwanda (IER), the President of RwGBO and the Chairman of Urban Planners Association of Rwanda.

Panel Discussion on Sustainable Built Environment: The Role of the Construction Sector for Green Growth moderated by Innocent Kabenga of GGGI

Dheeraj Arrabothu, Green Building Specialist of GGGI presented his experiences from the Green Building Movement in India to stakeholders and highlighted success stories and relevant opportunities for Rwanda on new and existing green buildings. The session also included presentations on innovations in semi-industrial brick manufacturing by Skat Rwanda, straw based wall & roofing panels by Strawtec Building Solutions Ltd., solutions for Rwanda’s wetland management by University of Rwanda and MASS Design Group’s low-carbon building designs and construction practices for Rwanda.