For a landlocked country, access to efficient transport routes can make the difference between an economy that simply produces and one that trades competitively with the wider region. Rwanda is now taking another step towards strengthening that connection, with the construction of Rusizi Port on Lake Kivu nearing completion.
The project has reached 97.5 per cent completion and is expected to strengthen Rwanda’s transport infrastructure, improve connectivity and support economic activity around Lake Kivu. More importantly, it forms part of a wider effort to reduce the disadvantages associated with being a landlocked economy and make it easier for goods and people to move across the region.
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The significance of the port goes beyond the construction of a new facility. Rwanda’s economic ambitions increasingly depend on its ability to connect domestic production with regional markets. Efficient transport infrastructure can reduce the time and cost involved in moving agricultural produce, manufactured goods and other products to consumers.
Lake Kivu offers a natural opportunity for improving connectivity between communities and markets in Rwanda and the wider Great Lakes region. A modern port can provide an additional transport option while supporting commercial activity around the lake.
For Rwanda, this matters because the country’s economic strategy is increasingly focused on services, industry, regional trade and private investment. The African Development Bank has projected economic growth of around 7 per cent for Rwanda in 2026, following particularly strong growth of 9.4 per cent in 2025.
The country’s growth is also being supported by infrastructure investment and efforts to improve productivity. A 2026 UNDP outlook identified services, industry and regional trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area as important drivers of Rwanda’s next phase of development.
Rusizi Port therefore arrives at an important moment.
For farmers and producers in western Rwanda, better transport links could create easier access to markets. Agricultural goods that might otherwise face lengthy journeys by road could benefit from more efficient movement through the lake system. Over time, this could encourage increased production and investment in storage, processing and distribution.
The port could also support tourism and local businesses. Lake Kivu is already one of Rwanda’s important tourism assets, and improved transport infrastructure could encourage greater movement of visitors and investment around the lake. New businesses can emerge when improved connectivity brings more people and commercial activity into previously underserved areas.
The wider regional implications are equally important. Rwanda’s economy does not exist in isolation. Its commercial future is closely linked to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Tanzania and other East African markets. Infrastructure that improves domestic connectivity can therefore become part of a broader regional trade network.
This is particularly relevant as African countries seek to make the African Continental Free Trade Area more practical. The success of continental trade will depend not only on agreements between governments but also on roads, ports, railways, warehouses, digital systems and border facilities that allow businesses to move goods efficiently.
Rwanda’s experience offers a useful example of how infrastructure can be viewed as an economic tool rather than simply a construction project.
The country has built much of its development strategy around connectivity, efficiency and investment. From Kigali’s growing services economy to its expanding technology sector and regional trade ambitions, infrastructure has been an important part of creating an environment in which businesses can operate.
Rusizi Port could extend that approach beyond the capital.
Its completion will not, by itself, transform regional commerce. The real impact will depend on how effectively the port is integrated with roads, businesses, customs systems and neighbouring markets. But its potential is considerable.
At a time when African economies are looking for practical ways to reduce trade costs and strengthen regional markets, projects such as Rusizi Port demonstrate the importance of investing in the physical foundations of integration.
Rwanda’s next economic chapter will depend on its ability to turn infrastructure into opportunity. If the new port succeeds in connecting producers to markets, businesses to customers and communities to new economic possibilities, it could become much more than a transport facility.
It could become a gateway to Rwanda’s next phase of growth.
