Rwanda Unveils $49 Million Smart Green Village for Volcanoes Park Relocation
Families being relocated to make way for the expansion of Volcanoes National Park are to move into a new settlement offering modern housing, basic services and livelihood opportunities under a $49 million Smart Green Village project, The New Times reported on 5 October 2026, citing the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
Volcanoes National Park, in Rwanda's north-west, is home to endangered mountain gorillas and is the centrepiece of the country's high-end eco-tourism. Expanding the park is intended to give wildlife more habitat and reduce human-wildlife conflict, but it involves land used by surrounding communities, so the design of resettlement and compensation arrangements has been a critical part of the project.
Under resettlement practice used elsewhere in Rwanda, such villages typically combine housing with schools, health posts, water and power connections, and livelihood projects linked to farming or tourism. The RDB has presented this village under a smart green concept emphasising housing quality and services; the breakdown and timetable of the $49 million investment have yet to be published by officials.
The New Times also reported the same day that Bank of Kigali is expanding the role of its more than 5,000 agents, tasking them with opening accounts as the bank targets more than two million customers by the end of 2027. Tourism, conservation and financial services together led the day's economic coverage in Rwanda.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 火山国家公园维龙加山脉。摄影：Nina R from Africa，CC BY 2.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
