Tuesday, 29, April ,2025 – Kigali, Rwanda

The Ministry of Infrastructure has officially launched Rwanda’s revised 2025 National Urbanisation Policy alongside KUBAKA, the new and enhanced digital platform for building permit services, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to promote sustainable, citizen-centered, and digitally enabled urban development. The event, held at the Ministry’s headquarters in Kigali, brought together key stakeholders from government, the private sector, development partners, civil society, and local authorities.

The dissemination of the new policy comes at a strategic time, as Rwanda accelerates efforts to achieve its Urbanisation target of 70% by 2050 under Vision 2050. The updated framework builds upon the foundation laid by the 2015 policy and reflects a decade of achievements, while addressing new challenges such as building climate resilience, land use efficiency, and economic inclusivity.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Infrastructure, Dr. Jimmy Gasore, emphasized the transformative intent of the new policy:

“Urbanisation is not just about building cities; it is about creating opportunities, improving lives, and shaping a sustainable future for every Rwandan. The 2025 National Urbanisation Policy gives us a bold, clear roadmap to achieve these goals together.”

The Minister also acknowledged the importance of the timing, noting that the launch aligns with the start of the Second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), providing a critical opportunity to reinforce urban planning and service delivery systems.

The revised policy is anchored on four key pillars: Coordination, Densification, Liveability, and Economic Growth. These pillars aim to ensure a climate-resilient, well-coordinated approach to urban development, encourage efficient land use, enhance the quality of life for urban residents, and enable robust urban economies.

As part of the Ministry’s commitment to improving service delivery, Dr. Gasore also unveiled KUBAKA, the new and enhanced digital platform for building permit services, replacing the old Building Permit Management Information System (BPMIS), which had been in use since 2016. KUBAKA is built on a new and modern architecture and technologies, based on a streamlined zero trip process for building permit application achieved through integrations with government third-party systems. With a user-friendly and intuitive interface, KUBAKA allows citizens, landowners, investors, and professionals in the real estate industry to apply for and track in real-time the status of their building permit applications online at kubaka.gov.rw. The platform is designed to enhance transparency, professionalism, speed in the application and processing of building permits, and the user experience, supporting Rwanda’s digital transformation agenda under NST2.

“With the launch of this new KUBAKA platform, we are making the building permit process faster, more transparent, and citizen-centred,” said the Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA), Mr. Innocent Bagamba Muhizi. “It is a critical step in modernizing service delivery and promoting smart, climate-resilient urban development across Rwanda.”

To ensure widespread engagement with the new policy and the new digital platform, the Ministry is also rolling out an extensive outreach campaign. This includes district-level community dialogues, media engagements, and the use of digital channels to raise awareness and promote participation.

The Ministry extended appreciation to all stakeholders who contributed to the development of the policy and the new and enhanced KUBAKA platform, affirming its commitment to inclusive and accountable urban growth.

“Thanks to our policy framework and improved service delivery, we will advance our shared urbanisation goals and significantly contribute to our NST2 and our Vision 2050,” concluded Dr. Gasore.