UPDATE 1-Rwanda says AIIB grants $200 mln loan for airport project

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KIGALI, Dec 3 (Reuters) – The China-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will grant a concessional loan of around $200 million for an international airport Rwanda has been building since 2017, Rwandan finance officials said on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Yusuf Murangwa said the loan would help ensure that a first phase of the Bugesera International Airport, which is expected to provide facilities for 7 million passengers a year, could be completed by the end of 2027.

Rwanda became a member of the AIIB in 2020.

A second phase of the Bugesera airport being built about 25 km from the capital Kigali is expected to be completed by 2032 and double its capacity to 14 million passengers a year.

In 2019 Rwanda said Qatar Airways had agreed to take a 60% stake in the airport. In 2019 the cost of the Bugesera International Airport was estimated at $1.3 billion.

(Reporting by Philbert Girinema; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Alexander Winning)

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