The case for climate-resilient infrastructure in Rwanda

For the last 2 years, Luxembourg's support to the Basket Funding for Pro-Poor Development (PPD-Basket) has enabled the delivery of rural infrastructure across 16 vulnerable districts in Rwanda, including roads, markets, schools and clinics. LuxDev is now contributing with a dedicated technical assistance component to embed climate resilience into infrastructure delivery. It is a timely move that addresses growing environmental risks and safeguards hard-won development gains.

From the mountainous west to the drier east, floods, landslides, and erosion regularly damage public facilities. Resilience means preventing damage from floods, ensuring year-round access, reducing overheating and water stress, and safeguarding services during climate extremes. For infrastructure to truly deliver, it must remain functional during climate shocks – not just in ideal conditions.

Field evaluations and audits reveal critical weaknesses. A July 2025 field report found that projects often lack formal climate risk assessments or drainage plans. A school in Nyabihu had elevated floors and water tanks, but no site landscaping to manage runoff, leaving it prone to ponding. A marshland bridge in Gatsibo was built without a hydrological study, making it vulnerable to floods. A Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau audit confirmed broader weaknesses in design quality, oversight and basic construction practices.

The result? Infrastructure becomes vulnerable even before it is commissioned. A rainwater tank may crack without proper supports. Roads may wash away due to poor drainage. Classrooms may overheat in the dry season. These flaws undermine impact and waste public funds. As highlighted in Luxembourg’s General Development Cooperation Strategy (The Road to 2030), resilience is treated as an investment that helps avoid future losses.

Rwanda's policies already prioritise climate adaptation, yet translation into infrastructure practice remains uneven. That's where the new technical assistance plays a catalytic role. LuxDev will roll out resilience tools to assess exposure, adaptive features and post-construction durability. This toolkit will track how well schools, clinics, roads and markets withstand climate stresses before and after resilience upgrades.

Complementing this, a technical handbook is underway, offering design standards tailored to local hazards. These will cover elevated plinths, natural ventilation, slope stabilisation and nature-based drainage systems. Pilots will demonstrate solutions such as reinforced culverts and native vegetation for slope retention in high-risk districts, informing future scale-up.

Existing PPD-Basket-funded assets will be screened and upgraded – for example, with raised drainage at health centres or gabion-reinforced bridges. Guidelines for such retrofits are already being drafted. Importantly, LuxDev's approach centres on community ownership through participatory operations and maintenance schemes piloted with districts, vocational schools and cooperatives. These efforts preserve infrastructure function, generate local employment and build capacity through workshops and peer exchanges for district engineers and Local Administrative Entities Development Agency staff.

The PPD-Basket aims to support local economic development initiatives and infrastructures that reduce poverty and inequality, and is implemented in Rwanda's 16 most disadvantaged districts. It is funded by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and implemented by LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency.