Akagera Game Lodge surrenders land

Information came to light that the Rwandan government, owner of the Akagera Game Lodge in Akagera National Park, has made arrangements that some 240 hectares of land surrounding the lodge and previously under control of the lodge, were to be handed over to the park itself.

his being the only lodge in the park, the other accommodation facility being a tented safari camp, new property boundaries will now be drawn up ensuring that enough space remains for future expansion, once the lodge has been privatized or handed over to a management company.

It is understood that the Rwandan government, after completing the land transfer, is now keen to find a suitable investor to both upgrade, perhaps expand and certainly run the property under a concession agreement.

The park was recently in the news over a lion relocation project, for which the entire park fence of over 120 kilometers in length was “lion proofed” with added height and ground installations to make sure the big cats, when they are eventually released into the park after an initial observation period in a specially-constructed holding “boma,” will remain where they belong and not disturb herders and farmers living near the park boundaries.

Akagera is one of three national parks in Rwanda, the other two being the Volcanos National Park where both mountain gorillas and golden monkeys are found and the Nyungwe Forest National Park, which is also home to several primate species, among them colobus monkeys.