Landlocked Rwanda plans to construct an inland clearing port to boost trade and accelerate economic growth.

Trade and Industry Minister Francois Kanimba says the country’s government has awarded a 25-year concession to Dubai Port World to build and operate the new Kigali Logistics Platform.

The dry inland port is designed to increase exports and imports and ensure Rwanda becomes the logistics hub of East Africa.

The new port will be located in the capital, Kigali, and will be constructed at a cost of $40-million.

“The concept of the Kigali Logistics Platform is to create an inland dry port that will accommodate all the logistics facilities, with some of them being a huge container depot a yard park and warehouses, to allow Rwandan traders to conduct their business with ease,” says Kanimba.

Being a landlocked nation, Rwanda depends entirely on the Dar es Salaam and Mombasa ports, in Tanzania and Kenya respectively, for its imports and exports.

The construction of the inland port will streamline logistics in Kigali, thus increasing the volume of trade.

The port will be linked with the central transport corridor that connects with the Port of Dar es Salaam and the northern transport corridor that connects with Mombasa port.

The Port of Dar es Salaam accounts for 70% of Rwanda’s maritime trade, while the rest is conducted through the Mombasa port.

The Kigali Logistics Platform is designed to signifi- cantly reduce transport costs, enabling businesses to import and export more products.

As one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, Rwanda has been recording steady growth in trade volumes. In 2014, Rwanda’s total exports value stood at $723-million, and the country’s government estimates that there 6% growth in 2015 at $764-million. The value of the country’s imports stood at $2.3-billion in 2014.

Construction of the inland port is expected to have started by the middle of this year and should be completed in 18 months.

The facility will provide warehousing and truck parking services, as well as a container yard and other auxiliary services and will also serve Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.