Investment in Rwanda up in 6 months to June 2009

By Eddie Bugingo

KIGALI (Reuters) - The value of investment projects registered in Rwanda in the first six months of 2009 rose to $646 million from $414 million a year earlier, boosted by major energy and telecoms projects, Rwanda's Development Board said.

The number of individual projects registered fell slightly to 57 from 63 in the first half of 2008, although the proportion of new ventures from abroad remained constant at just over 38 percent, despite the global economic slowdown.

"We have seen that the numbers of projects that are coming into Rwanda in terms of numbers have a slight drop of about 10 percent but in terms of the value of the project, we have seen in fact an increase of over 50 percent of the value of projects registered," Clare Akamanzi, the board's deputy CEO in charge of business operations and services, told Reuters late on Monday.

Rwanda's economy has been rebuilt following the 1994 genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus with a focus on technology, mining, tourism and agriculture.

The central African nation has averaged 5-6 percent economic growth rates over the last decade, hitting 11.2 percent in 2008.

However, the finance ministry expects growth to slow again to 5-6 percent in 2009 in the light of the global slowdown, which is seen hitting investment, exports and tax revenues.

The biggest project registered so far this year was from Contour Global, an American firm that is investing $300 million to produce electricity from methane gas under Lake Kivu.

The hotel sector had 15 new projects, the highest number of individual ventures, followed by construction and manufacturing. Overall, the new projects registered were expected to create 7,173 jobs, up from 6,907 a year earlier.