The handover ceremony held on August 28, 2026, followed the completion of the China-aided Masaka Hospital Renovation and Expansion Project, which has transformed the facility into one of the largest comprehensive teaching hospitals in Rwanda and the region.
The expanded hospital, located in Kicukiro District, will become the new home of the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK), which is expected to relocate to Masaka by the end of 2026.
Rwanda’s Minister of Health, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, described the facility as the largest hospital in Rwanda in terms of capacity, saying the new building has more than 700 beds and, together with the existing Masaka District Hospital next door, brings the total capacity to more than 800 beds.
“This hospital is the largest in Rwanda. It’s the largest because the one we had in Rwanda with the highest number of bed capacity had 500,” Dr. Nsanzimana said during the handover ceremony.
He said the significance of the project goes beyond the size of the building, with the services planned for the facility expected to provide high-level medical care to patients from Rwanda and beyond.
“So if you look at the region, it’s also among the largest hospitals. And not only the building, but also the services that will be provided in this hospital plan to be at the high level for national, but also for international medical care,” he said.
The minister said Rwanda expects the new facility to develop into a medical hub serving Africa and beyond, building on the longstanding partnership between Rwanda and China.
“We expect this to be a hub for medicine in Africa and beyond, through the friendship and partnership in Rwanda and China,” Dr. Nsanzimana said.
From 127 to 837 beds
The scale of the transformation is reflected in the expansion of the hospital’s infrastructure. The hospital’s floor area has increased from about 6,389 square metres to 56,957 square metres, while the number of beds has risen from 127 to 837.
The facility has 22 operating theatres and a planned daily outpatient capacity of 2,000 visits. It comprises 13 buildings, including an outpatient and emergency building, a medical technology building, inpatient wards and an administrative building. The project also includes a helicopter pad.
A connecting corridor system was designed to respond to the complex terrain around the hospital, where the height difference reaches up to 32 metres, making movement between different sections of the facility easier for patients and medical personnel.
The project was designed by IPPR International Engineering and undertaken by Shanghai Construction Group Co. Ltd. Construction began in July 2022, with the project’s groundbreaking ceremony held on March 30, 2023.
The project cost 580 million Chinese yuan, equivalent to more than Rwf124 billion, and is the largest grant aid project undertaken by the Chinese government in Rwanda so far.
Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Gao Wenqi said the transformation represented a historic development for a hospital that has been closely associated with the two countries’ relationship for more than a decade.
“Masaka Hospital stands as both a witness and participant to China-Rwanda friendship,” Amb. Gao said.
The original Masaka Hospital was built with support from the Chinese government and officially opened in 2011, with a floor area of 6,398 square metres and 127 beds, providing basic medical services to people in surrounding areas.
In 2018, during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Rwanda, Xi and President Paul Kagame witnessed the exchange of notes on the expansion and renovation project.
Amb. Gao said the project therefore reflected the continued attention given to the partnership by the leadership of both countries.
“The successful completion of this renovation and expansion project marks a comprehensive and historical transformation of the hospital, ushering in a new era of development in both its facilities and service capabilities,” he said.
New home for CHUK
The expanded Masaka facility is expected to play a central role in the reorganisation of tertiary healthcare services in Kigali.
The Ministry of Health recently announced that CHUK would move to the new facility by the end of 2026. Its current premises in central Kigali will, however, continue providing critical emergency services.
Speaking at the handover, Dr. Nsanzimana said preparations were already underway to ensure a smooth transition and allow services to begin at the new facility as soon as possible.
“After the building is officially received today, there’s work being done to see the services starting as soon as possible with CHUK moving in here,” he said.
He said the government was working with CHUK leadership and other government teams to make the transition smooth.
“I can’t wait to see patients coming in, in a few weeks,” Dr. Dr. Nsanzimana said, noting that steps were already being taken to prepare the facility for use.
The minister also highlighted the potential for the hospital to become a centre for medical research and technology.
He said discussions with Ambassador Gao had included the possibility of doctors in Rwanda working remotely with specialists in China, including through technology that could allow medical professionals in different countries to participate in procedures.
“That is how you can connect people even remotely with technology. That is what we are working on,” he said.
Building on decades of medical cooperation
The handover also builds on a longstanding China-Rwanda partnership in healthcare following the establishment of diplomatic relations between Rwanda and China dating back to 1971.
So far, China has dispatched 26 batches of medical teams, comprising 343 medical personnel, to Rwanda.
The teams have provided medical services at Masaka Hospital and Kibungo Hospital, cumulatively treating more than 720,000 patients and performing more than 40,000 surgeries.
In September 2023, the Rwanda Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion Center was established at Masaka Hospital, while a Traditional Chinese Medicine consultation room was set up at Kibungo Hospital in 2026.
The 26th Chinese medical team is currently working at both facilities. Amb. Gao said China intends to build on this cooperation by using the new Masaka Hospital as a platform for deeper collaboration in healthcare.
He outlined three areas of future cooperation: establishing a collaborative medical centre, strengthening medical talent development and expanding technology-driven cooperation, adding that the two countries would work to develop the hospital into a regional centre of medical excellence.
Amb. Gao also pledged continued support for training Rwandan medical and public health professionals through long-term expert support, training programmes and clinical mentorship.
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