Construction of 870 houses intended to resettle families displaced by the 2023 disasters in Rubavu District is in its final stage, with officials saying the project is nearing completion.
The housing units, located in Rugerero Sector, are designed to accommodate households from different parts of the district who lost their homes during floods and landslides that affected the Western and Northern Provinces.
Construction works began in July 2025, following the laying of the foundation stone, as part of a broader government response to resettle disaster-affected families.
The Minister in charge of Emergency Management, Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Albert Murasira, recently visited the Ruranga and Kasonga settlement sites to assess progress.
He was accompanied by Western Province Governor Jean Bosco Ntibitura and Rubavu District Mayor Prosper Mulindwa. The delegation expressed satisfaction with the pace and quality of the works.
The minister urged contractors to accelerate the remaining works to ensure timely completion and the swift relocation of families who have spent more than two years in temporary shelters.
The 870 houses form part of a wider resettlement programme, under which 461 houses have already been handed over in Rubavu District, alongside 119 others constructed in Musanze and other districts.
Following the 2023 disasters, the Government of Rwanda, through the Ministry in charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA) and the Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) project, in partnership with the World Bank, launched a large-scale reconstruction programme targeting the most affected areas.
The Western and Northern Provinces were the hardest hit, prompting sustained government-led resettlement interventions.
Phase one of the programme delivered more than 2,500 houses across affected regions.
Official data shows that between 2020 and 2024, the Western Province recorded the highest number of damaged homes, with 15,780 houses destroyed by disasters. The Northern Province recorded 6,612 during the same period.
Rubavu District was the most affected, with 7,526 homes destroyed, followed by Ngororero with 2,741 and Burera with 2,036.
Nationwide, the Western Province remained the most affected region, followed by the Northern, Eastern, Southern provinces and Kigali City.
