Kigali City Tower

I could have chosen many many sites in Kigali to write on. I could have chosen Hotel des Mille Collines, or the Kigalia Genocide Memorial Center. But while searching, I found something that represents Kigali in the present, more so than anything else. Kigali City Tower is one of the only skyscrapers in Kigali. It sticks out like a sore thumb, standing far above everything around it.

The largest tower (on the right), is the Kigali City Tower, standing far above anything else.

The building itself is not active yet, since it was only recently built. They are currently finalizing leases with retailers, banks, and offices before opening it. But this anticipation is exactly what this building represents. To me, it represents the anticipation of Kigali as a city for the future. It's a beautiful building, both in the day time and at night.

The tower at night.

The tower during the day.

The building plans to house absolutely everything, from a supermarket, to movie theater, from a mall, to a bank, from offices, to a restaurant and nightclub.

The floor plan for Kigali City Tower.

Quotes from the main website (http://www.kigalicitytower.com/) make the building seem like the future economic, cultural center of the city.  The tower "isn't just the most attractive and comfortable office and retail development on the market today. It also provides an unprecedented level of technical efficiency to give our tenants an environment that supports productivity and excellence - regardless of the type or size of the business." To the people who built the building, and probably for many others out there, the building "stands for hope - in a city rapidly becoming of the most prosperous, cleanest and fastest-growing metropolitan centers on the African continent." The contractors, financiers, and supporters of the tower is surely anticipating the building to be a game-changer in the "new" Kigali. (Note: All quotes taken directly off their website.)

A futuristic view of the retail area of the building. Bourbon Coffee stands at the base, which is actually a Rwandan-based coffee shop (it is NOT a commercial coffee shop), and has multiple locations in Kigali, and the only location outside Rwanda is in Porter Square, Cambridge!

Finally, as I mentioned before, the building was chosen in the center of the city, "strategically," according to their website. However, it is hardly in the true center of town, but rather the center of the commercial district. Using Google Earth, you can see it very clearly.

The commercial district with the Kigali City Tower and its area clearly outlined.

The bigger picture: Kigali as a whole, with the tower on pin-pointed.