Material and labour prices
Market ranges, in US dollars and local currency.
RwandaBuilding in Kigali1 USD = 1,478 FRw (Live exchange rate)Data updated August 30, 2026
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| Item | Unit | USD | FRw | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial verification, per circuit (IEC 60364-6)Continuity of the protective conductor, insulation resistance, earth loop impedance and RCD trip time, measured circuit by circuit and written up. IEC 60364-6 requires this before an installation is energised, and no schedule in these markets prices it, because it is usually not done. Estimated from an electrician’s day rate against the number of circuits one person tests in a day. The bill bought the board and the earth electrode and verified neither, which is the same shape as a missing line anywhere else in this product: it looks exactly like a test that costs nothing. | per circuit | $4 – $12 | 5,913 FRw – 17,739 FRw | Estimated |
| Isolation valve, per fixtureA quarter-turn brass ball valve and its connection, one at each fixture and one on the incoming main. Estimated from merchant prices for 15 and 20 mm valves; no published schedule separates them from the fixture. Without them an installation has no way to isolate a branch, so changing a tap means shutting the whole house off: and in practice means the tap is not changed. | per valve | $6 – $18 | 8,869 FRw – 26,608 FRw | Estimated |
| Wall copingA weathered cap over the top of a wall, cast in place or precast, throwing water clear of both faces. Estimated from the concrete, the formwork and the mason’s time for a 300 mm cap rather than from a published rate, because coping is normally swallowed inside a per-metre wall price. An uncapped wall takes rain straight into its top course, and the first failure of a boundary wall here is almost always the top three courses rather than the foundation. | per metre | $6 – $16 | 8,869 FRw – 23,652 FRw | Estimated |
| Damp-proof courseBitumen felt or polythene laid in the bed joint above ground level, breaking the path water takes up through the masonry. Estimated from roll prices at the width a 150 to 200 mm wall needs. Rising damp is what makes the bottom of a rendered wall blister and shed within two or three wet seasons, and the cure after the fact is to take the render off and start again. | per metre | $1 – $4 | 1,774 FRw – 5,174 FRw | Estimated |
| Gate lock and drop boltA lock and a drop bolt into the threshold, which is what secures a gate rather than what hangs it. Deliberately not hinges or paint : the gate leaf here is priced through the boundary’s own material with a fabrication factor whose written basis already names the frame, the hinges and the paint, so buying them again would charge the same money twice. That is the mistake `knownCosts` exists to avoid, and it is easier to make when adding a line than when removing one. Estimated from merchant prices for a padlockable gate lock and a galvanised drop bolt. | per set | $60 – $200 | 88,694 FRw – 295,648 FRw | Estimated |
| Formwork, per m² of contact areaSheet, bearers, nails, props and release oil, measured the way a bordereau measures it, per square metre of concrete face formed, with the sheet amortised over about four uses. Nothing in this product priced formwork at all, and no concrete rate here claims to include it, so every reinforced element was quietly assumed to cast itself. It is not a small line: on a boundary wall with posts and two tie beams the formed area is roughly twice the wall’s own footprint. Estimated from plywood and melamine sheet prices in this market against a four-use life; a merchant quotation would replace the sheet share directly. | per m² formed | $4 – $11 | 5,913 FRw – 16,261 FRw | Estimated |
| Binding wire (for tying reinforcement)Annealed wire for tying bars and links into a cage. Ordered at 12 kg per tonne of reinforcement, which is the middle of the 10 to 15 kg range trades work to. Estimated from merchant prices for annealed wire by the coil. It is a trivial cost and a total stopper: a cage cannot be tied without it, and it was missing from every bill this product has ever produced. | per kg | $2 – $4 | 2,217 FRw – 5,174 FRw | Estimated |
| Weep hole (75 mm PVC sleeve through the wall)A short PVC sleeve cast or built through the wall just above ground on the exposed face, with the mason’s time to place it. Estimated from offcut pipe prices and a few minutes’ work each; no schedule prices a weep hole, because it is the first thing left out. Leaving them out is not a saving of this size : an undrained wall carries roughly 1.75 times the push of a drained one, because saturated backfill adds full hydrostatic pressure that no friction angle reduces. | per weep hole | $2 – $7 | 2,956 FRw – 10,348 FRw | Estimated |
| Filter fabric (behind the wall)A non-woven geotextile wrapping the granular drainage blanket so the fines in the retained soil do not migrate into it. Estimated from roll prices for a light non-woven grade. Without it the drain silts up and becomes more soil within a season or two, which is worse than never building it: the wall is then loaded as an undrained wall by a detail everybody believes is working. | per m² | $1 – $4 | 1,774 FRw – 5,174 FRw | Estimated |
| Concrete curing (sheeting and water, 7 days)Polythene sheeting at 200 microns used twice over, the water to keep the surface wet for seven days, and the labour of wetting it. An outright estimate: no schedule in these markets prices curing separately, because it is almost always buried in a concrete rate and therefore almost always skipped on site. It is priced here for the opposite reason, in this climate a slab above about 32 °C loses water faster than bleed replaces it, and concrete that dries before it hydrates never reaches its grade whatever the mix design said. A well-batched concrete badly cured is weaker than a badly batched one cured properly, so this is the cheapest line in the bill measured against what it protects. | per m² of surface | $1 – $2 | 887 FRw – 2,365 FRw | Estimated |
| Movement joint (backer rod and sealant)Compressible filler and a gun-applied sealant, per metre of joint height. Nothing in these packs is comparable enough to scale from, a joint is a backer rod and a cartridge, not a coating sold by the square metre, so this is an outright estimate from what a hardware merchant charges for polyurethane sealant and closed-cell filler at the coverage a 15 mm joint uses. It is a small line against the wall it protects: a 140 m run needs about 55 m of joint, and leaving it out is why a new boundary wall cracks in its first dry season. | per metre | $3 – $8 | 4,435 FRw – 11,826 FRw | Estimated |
| Consumer unit, per way (three phase)A three-phase way: the same protective device on a busbar fed from three lines rather than one, so the board, the main switch and the incoming device all cost more for the same number of circuits. Priced from this market’s own single-phase way at the premium wholesalers quote for the three-phase range. No regional survey separates them. | per way | $18 – $58 | 26,608 FRw – 85,442 FRw | Estimated |
| Supply cable (3 × 10 mm²)Single-phase supply, three cores: line, neutral and earth against the four of a three-phase run. Priced from this market’s own four-core cable at the ratio of the copper in it, which is what a merchant charges for cable, the drum is sold by weight of conductor. No regional survey separates the two sizes. This is what an ordinary house here is connected with; three-phase is for a workshop, a borehole pump of any size, or a house large enough to need the load balanced. | per metre | $4 – $10 | 5,174 FRw – 14,487 FRw | Estimated |
| Copper supply pipe (ø 22)Copper, soldered. Rare here and dear: it is imported, it needs a plumber with a torch, and the offcuts walk off a site. It is specified where hot water runs through a roof void or where a client wants a system that outlives the building. Priced at the multiple of PPR that importers quote for tube of the same bore; no regional survey covers it, and in most of these markets a merchant will order it in rather than stock it. | per metre | $7 – $25 | 10,348 FRw – 37,252 FRw | Estimated |
| Pressure PVC supply pipe (ø 25)Pressure PVC, the cheaper supply pipe and the one most self-builds here use for cold runs. It is solvent-welded rather than fusion-welded, so it needs no heating iron and any mason can lay it : which is why it is common : and it must not carry hot water or run in sunlight, where it goes brittle. Priced from this market’s own PPR at the discount merchants quote; no regional survey separates supply pipe by material. | per metre | $1 – $4 | 1,922 FRw – 6,209 FRw | Estimated |
| Stair nosing (aluminium or PVC)A pre-formed aluminium or PVC stair nosing, sold by the metre and fixed to the front edge of each tread. It takes the wear and stops the arris of a cast step breaking away, which is what makes an unnosed concrete stair look derelict in two years. No regional survey prices it; the band is scaled from this market’s own skirting, which is the same kind of extruded trim bought the same way. | per metre | $5 – $16 | 6,948 FRw – 23,652 FRw | Estimated |
| Exterior paint (20 L drum)Exterior acrylic, sold in the same 20 L drum as the interior grade. It carries more binder and a UV package because this face takes full sun and driven rain through a wet season, and an interior paint put outside chalks within a year. Priced from this market’s own interior paint at the premium merchants quote for the exterior grade, since no regional survey separates the two : the Kinshasa paint survey does not even state its container size, which is why the interior figure is itself an estimate. | per drum | $42 – $110 | 62,086 FRw – 155,215 FRw | Estimated |
| Primer or sealer (20 L drum)New render is alkaline and thirsty: without a sealer the first top coat is drunk into the wall, the colour goes patchy and the covering rate collapses, so the paint saved is spent twice over. Priced from this market’s own paint at the discount a primer usually carries, since no regional survey separates the two. A repaint over sound existing paint needs none, and the element lets it be unticked. | per drum | $22 – $62 | 32,521 FRw – 91,651 FRw | Estimated |
| Door ironmongery (lock, handle, 3 hinges)A lock case, a handle set and three hinges. Doors here are sold as a leaf and a frame and nothing else, `door_timber` is a timber door with frame, so a house with twelve doors needs twelve sets and the bill had none of them. No regional survey prices ironmongery; the band is scaled from this market’s own timber door, at the fifth of the door price merchants quote for a plain mortice set. A cylinder lock on an external door costs more and a padlock hasp costs less: this is the ordinary internal set, and somebody fitting security ironmongery overrides the line. | per set | $8 – $33 | 11,826 FRw – 48,782 FRw | Estimated |
| Electrical point, surface mountedSurface-mounted point: PVC trunking and clips on the face of the wall, no chase cut and no making good. Priced from this market’s own chased point rate less 20 per cent, the chasing and the render patch are what the two installations differ by, and on blockwork that is about a fifth of the point. No published survey separates the two: CYPE and the regional schedules price a chased point, because that is what a specification asks for. It is the cheaper build and the common one in a rented shop, a workshop, or any wall somebody expects to open again. | per point | $6 – $10 | 8,869 FRw – 14,782 FRw | Estimated |
| Ridge capping (pre-folded)A pre-folded ridge cap, sold in 2 m lengths at roughly the price of one sheet, which is the ratio merchants across the region quote. No published survey covers it, regional price surveys track cement, steel and sheeting, never the accessories, so the band is scaled from this market’s own sheet price and moves with it. It is a real line rather than flat sheet: a cap is folded to the ridge angle and costs more per square metre than the sheet it closes. | per metre | $6 – $12 | 8,869 FRw – 17,739 FRw | Estimated |
| Roofing fixings (box of 100)Self-drilling screws with EPDM washers, sold by the box of 100 at any hardware merchant. No published survey covers this item: regional price surveys track cement, steel and sheeting, never fasteners. The band starts from a retail price of 0.12 to 0.25 USD a screw observed across the region, and scales with this market’s own sheet price. At 7 screws/m² it is 1 to 2 per cent of the sheet cost, an error here does not move a roof budget, while omitting it drops a real item: a 300 m² roof needs about 2,100 of them. | per box of 100 | $10 – $25 | 14,782 FRw – 36,956 FRw | Estimated |
| Grey cement (50 kg bag)The most recent evidence is from late 2025: the cement and regional press report a marked rise in Rwandan prices across 2025, driven by the mega-projects, which absorb roughly half a national output of 1.5 million tonnes. The last firm published Kigali retail price is older, though (RWF 12,500 to 13,000 a 50 kg bag of 42.5 grade), and the band carries that gap: one surveyed price, then two years of rise that is described but never re-measured. No 2026 Kigali quotation exists publicly, and this is the line to re-check before any other, because the block and the concrete follow it. | per bag | $9 – $13 | 12,565 FRw – 19,217 FRw | Estimated |
| Scaffolding, erect and hireDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (2.5 to 5.0 a day) at an output of 2.5 to 6 m² of face erected, moved and struck per worker-day; hiring the equipment weighs less than the labour. Measured on the face worked above 2 m: below that you work off the ground or off trestles and nothing is hired. Nothing in this product bought any, when a 2.40 m wall rendered on both faces is not built from the ground. | per m² of elevation | $0 – $2 | 621 FRw – 2,956 FRw | Derived |
| Slab proppingDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (2.5 to 5.0 a day), plus the hire of the props. A suspended slab is held by its props for three weeks before it carries its own weight: the formwork gives it its shape, the propping stops it coming down. Formwork has been priced since 2026-08-21 and what holds it up still was not. | per m² of soffit | $1 – $3 | 917 FRw – 4,110 FRw | Derived |
| Setting outDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (2.5 to 5.0 a day) at an output of 5 to 12 m of perimeter set out per worker-day: profiles, lines, level and the day of the gang that marks it. It is the first spend on any site and no element carried it. Setting out wrongly is not corrected, it is demolished. | per metre of perimeter | $0 – $1 | 310 FRw – 1,478 FRw | Derived |
| Mixing water, deliveredA cubic metre of concrete takes about 180 litres of mixing water, and on most sites here it arrives by tanker or in drums rather than through a connection. Estimated at the price of a tanker load spread over the volume of concrete, not at the metered price of water. Distinct from curing, already priced separately: this one goes into the mix, that one protects it after the pour. | per m³ of concrete or mortar | $0 – $2 | 458 FRw – 2,469 FRw | Estimated |
| Hand excavation, ordinary groundDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (2.5 to 5.0 a day) at the usual output for hand digging in ordinary ground, 1.5 to 2.5 m³ per worker-day: 5.0 ÷ 1.5 at the top of the band, 2.5 ÷ 2.5 at the bottom. A fixed price in dollars would mean nothing here, earthworks are almost entirely labour, and the labourer’s wage varies sixfold across the markets in the catalogue. Hard, rocky or waterlogged ground is outside this band and is handled case by case. | per m³ | $1 – $3 | 1,478 FRw – 4,923 FRw | Derived |
| Washed crushed sand (0/5)This market has no separate survey for crushed sand. Derived from this pack’s natural sand (20.0 to 38.0) at the ratio of 1.5 surveyed in Kolwezi on 2026-08-21, where Dilala natural sand is delivered at 20 USD/m³ and Katonto crushed sand at 30 USD/m³. It is the ratio that is carried over and not the price: crushing and washing cost much the same anywhere, whereas the price of natural sand depends mostly on the distance to the river. | per m³ | $30 – $57 | 44,347 FRw – 84,260 FRw | Derived |
| SandCorrected sharply downwards: the previous band, USD 20 to 38, came from a neighbouring pack and no Rwandan evidence supported it. No Kigali merchant publishes a clean delivered per-m³ price. The only Rwandan listing found is a Kigali supplier’s sand and gravel page, dated 1 November 2025, at RWF 13,800 to 14,800, whose text does not say whether the unit is a m³, a tonne or a bag: that is this line’s main weakness. Rwandan sand comes from the rivers and wetlands, whose working is regulated, and it does not travel. | per m³ | $8 – $16 | 11,826 FRw – 23,652 FRw | Estimated |
| Crushed stoneCorrected downwards for the same reason as the sand: the previous band came from a neighbouring pack. No Kigali quarry price list is published. The nearest figure is that same sand and gravel page, with the same ambiguity of unit. Kigali crushed stone comes from the Nyacyonga, Rusororo and Bugesera-road quarries and normally sells above sand. An order-of-magnitude band, to be replaced by a quarry price. | per m³ | $12 – $24 | 17,739 FRw – 35,478 FRw | Estimated |
| Rubble stoneNo published survey. Stone is plentiful beneath the Rwandan hills and rubble remains much used in foundations and in retaining walls, the latter being a common item on a sloping site. | per m³ | $16 – $30 | 23,652 FRw – 44,347 FRw | Estimated |
| Reinforcement barRevised upwards on dated Rwandan evidence. The regional press of November 2025 reports that reinforcement bar in Kigali went from about RWF 14,000 to 27,000 during the materials squeeze, roughly a doubling. Neither source states the diameter or the length, but the Rwandan trade quotes by the 12 m bar and that order of magnitude fits 12 mm. Brought to the tonne at 10.66 kg a bar. Steel arrives through Mombasa or Dar, 1,400 to 1,500 km away. | per tonne | $890 – $1,750 | 1,315,635 FRw – 2,572,140 FRw | Estimated |
| Steel section (IPE, HEA)Sections imported through the Northern and Central corridors. Little local structural steel capacity, so fabrication weighs heavily: see steelFabricationFactor. | per tonne | $920 – $1,500 | 1,359,982 FRw – 2,217,362 FRw | Estimated |
| Concrete block 150 mmDerived from the estimated cement price: a 150 mm block takes about 0.022 of a bag, plus aggregate, moulding and the maker’s margin. Blocks are moulded in the district where the building goes up and do not travel, so the price follows Kigali’s cement. Derived from an estimate rather than a survey: the line inherits the weakness of the cement. | each | $1 – $1 | 917 FRw – 1,478 FRw | Derived |
| Concrete block 100 mmThe same derivation as the 150 mm block, in proportion to the volume of material used. | each | $0 – $1 | 621 FRw – 1,005 FRw | Derived |
| Concrete block 150 mmDerived from the estimated cement price, as above: material, moulding and the maker’s margin. | each | $1 – $1 | 917 FRw – 1,478 FRw | Derived |
| Concrete block 200 mmSame derivation, in proportion to the volume of material used. | each | $1 – $1 | 1,330 FRw – 2,143 FRw | Derived |
| Half block 15 × 20 × 20A half block, moulded in the same shortened mould and sold from the same yard. The price is derived from the full block of the same thickness at 60%: the material halves, but moulding, handling and curing cost the same per piece, so a half block never sells at half price. No direct survey confirms it yet; this is a reasoned order of magnitude, not an observed price. | each | $0 – $1 | 550 FRw – 887 FRw | Derived |
| Half block 20 × 20 × 20A half block, moulded in the same shortened mould and sold from the same yard. The price is derived from the full block of the same thickness at 60%: the material halves, but moulding, handling and curing cost the same per piece, so a half block never sells at half price. No direct survey confirms it yet; this is a reasoned order of magnitude, not an observed price. | each | $1 – $1 | 798 FRw – 1,286 FRw | Derived |
| Hollow block 250 mmSame derivation, in proportion to the volume of material used. | each | $1 – $2 | 1,552 FRw – 2,483 FRw | Derived |
| Solid block 150 mmThe same derivation as the 150 mm hollow block, with solid material in place of the voids. | each | $1 – $2 | 1,478 FRw – 2,365 FRw | Derived |
| Stabilised compressed earth blockManual press, site soil, 5 to 8% cement. A more serious trade here than elsewhere in this product: Rwanda has backed compressed earth in several housing programmes, the resource is good and cement is dear, which makes the comparison favourable. | each | $0 – $1 | 355 FRw – 857 FRw | Estimated |
| Fired brickOne name for two products: artisanal kiln brick and factory brick. It is the traditional walling material of Rwanda, far more present than in the neighbouring markets where the block dominates, and fired clay brick has a real artisanal trade here. | each | $0 – $0 | 148 FRw – 665 FRw | Estimated |
| Mud brickMoulded on site and sun dried. Largely displaced in formal building: the Rwandan planning rules, enforced in earnest, exclude it in urban areas. | each | $0 – $0 | 59 FRw – 163 FRw | Estimated |
| Structural timber (eucalyptus, pine)Corrected downwards on a published Rwandan figure, where the previous band was a regional estimate. A wood value-chain analysis prepared for the German cooperation and CIFOR-ICRAF, carried by the Rwanda Forestry Authority, takes about USD 128 a m³ for the most traded Rwandan-origin sawnwood, with timber imported from the DRC dearer. Rwanda has reforested heavily in eucalyptus and pine: the resource is real, but the logs stay small and structural sections limited. Treatment against termites is not in this price and is not optional. | per m³ | $130 – $260 | 192,171 FRw – 384,343 FRw | Estimated |
| Profiled galvanised sheetSheet imported or rolled regionally. The dominant roof covering in the country, including in better building: sheet is all but universal on the Rwandan hills. State the thickness. | per sheet | $13 – $25 | 19,217 FRw – 36,956 FRw | Estimated |
| Roof tileConcrete or clay tile, the latter having a long-established local production. Used in better housing. | each | $1 – $2 | 1,109 FRw – 2,661 FRw | Estimated |
| Floor tilingTile imported through Mombasa or Dar. The double inland haul puts this line above Kenya and Tanzania. | per m² | $8 – $30 | 11,826 FRw – 44,347 FRw | Estimated |
| Emulsion paint (20 L tin)Imported from East Africa or Asia, with a few local formulators. Confirm the drum volume before turning it into a rate. | per tin | $32 – $78 | 47,304 FRw – 115,303 FRw | Estimated |
| PlasterboardImported board, grid included. At 1,500 m, insulating the ceiling has a real thermal purpose here that the coastal markets in this product do not have. | per m² | $7 – $18 | 10,348 FRw – 26,608 FRw | Estimated |
| Louvre windowLittle used: Kigali’s climate is temperate and the instinct is to close up in the evening rather than ventilate continuously. It is the opposite of the equatorial and coastal markets in this product. | per m² | $26 – $62 | 38,434 FRw – 91,651 FRw | Estimated |
| GutterFolded sheet or PVC. Sized to EN 12056-3: Rwanda has two marked rainy seasons and steep ground, so rainwater is as much a question of erosion as of roofing. | per metre | $6 – $16 | 8,869 FRw – 23,652 FRw | Estimated |
| Storage tank, per litrePolyethylene tank imported from East Africa. Rainwater harvesting is encouraged by Rwandan regulation on new buildings, which makes this line more universal than elsewhere. | per litre | $0 – $0 | 118 FRw – 355 FRw | Estimated |
| Solar water heater, per litreImported thermosiphon. A good yield at altitude where the radiation is strong, and a real purpose since the nights are cool: the combination is better here than in most markets in this product. | per litre of capacity | $3 – $10 | 4,730 FRw – 14,043 FRw | Estimated |
| Generator, per kVAFrom a Chinese set to a European one, imported through the Northern and Central corridors. A small market and a double inland haul: the band is above Kenya. | per kVA | $220 – $1,350 | 325,213 FRw – 1,995,626 FRw | Estimated |
| Solar PV, per WpPanel, inverter and fitting. Rwanda runs an active off-grid electrification policy, so the installers exist; the equipment, on the other hand, pays the double inland haul. | per Wp | $1 – $2 | 1,257 FRw – 2,365 FRw | Estimated |
| Hand-drilled borehole, per metre (to 40 m)No Rwandan driller’s rate obtained. The Precambrian basement beneath the Kigali hills is hard and often forces a rig within the first few metres: hand drilling is less workable there than on the coastal plains, and this line is little used in practice. | per metre | $95 – $200 | 140,433 FRw – 295,648 FRw | Estimated |
| Tile groutImported product, sold in 1 to 5 kg bags according to the make. Confirm the packaging before turning it into a price per kg. | per kg | $2 – $4 | 2,365 FRw – 5,322 FRw | Estimated |
| Polythene damp-proof membraneSheet by the roll. EN 13967 is a product standard: it binds the supplier, not the site. | per m² | $1 – $1 | 813 FRw – 1,922 FRw | Estimated |
| Damp-proof course rollBituminous roll, EN 14967. Rising damp is the commonest durability defect and the cheapest to prevent. | per linear metre | $1 – $2 | 1,478 FRw – 3,548 FRw | Estimated |
| SBS bitumen membrane 4 mmImported membrane, EN 13707. Torch-applied, labour not included in this price. | per m² | $9 – $17 | 12,565 FRw – 25,130 FRw | Estimated |
| Liquid waterproofing (per coat)Imported resin. Two coats at least, which the measurement counts separately. | per m² per coat | $2 – $5 | 3,104 FRw – 7,687 FRw | Estimated |
| Cementitious tanking slurry, per kgImported water-resistant mortar, EN 14891, for wet rooms and light tanking. | per kg | $2 – $5 | 3,104 FRw – 6,800 FRw | Estimated |
| PVC ceiling panellingSold by the board or the pack and never by the m²: confirm the board dimensions and how many are in a pack. | per m² | $6 – $13 | 8,130 FRw – 19,217 FRw | Estimated |
| SkirtingSkirting in tile, timber or PVC. Always laid and almost never measured, which is exactly why it has a line here. | per metre | $3 – $8 | 3,843 FRw – 11,826 FRw | Estimated |
| Metal door with frameDoor from a local workshop, folded sheet on a welded frame. State whether the price covers the frame, the lock and the fitting: three answers circulate and the spread between them is wider than the spread between workshops. | per door | $72 – $200 | 106,433 FRw – 288,257 FRw | Estimated |
| Timber door with frameFlush panel or solid timber: two products, two prices, and the same name at the joiner’s. Establish which before accepting a figure. | per door | $42 – $150 | 62,086 FRw – 221,736 FRw | Estimated |
| Glazed aluminium windowLocal workshop joinery from imported sections, glazing and fitting included. | per m² | $82 – $180 | 121,216 FRw – 266,083 FRw | Estimated |
| Burglar barIronwork from a local workshop, per m² of opening protected. | per m² | $24 – $64 | 35,478 FRw – 94,607 FRw | Estimated |
| Stair balustradeIronwork or timber. EN 1991-1-1 §6.4 gives it a horizontal load: it is a structural element and not a finish, which is the reason this line exists. | per metre | $38 – $140 | 56,173 FRw – 206,954 FRw | Estimated |
| Rainwater downpipeImported ø 100 PVC, clips and bends included. The diameter follows the flow calculation, not the seller’s catalogue. | per metre | $4 – $12 | 5,913 FRw – 17,739 FRw | Estimated |
| Supply pipework (PPR ø 25)Imported PPR, fittings included and fitting excluded: the data layer counts fitting with the other trades. | per metre | $2 – $6 | 2,956 FRw – 8,278 FRw | Estimated |
| Waste pipework (PVC ø 110)Imported ø 110 PVC, fittings included. The metres of waste pipe are what a per-point price leaves out, since it pays only for the fixtures. | per metre | $3 – $10 | 5,026 FRw – 14,782 FRw | Estimated |
| Plumbing point (WC + basin)Fitted point, fixtures included. State whether the labour is inside it: the data layer counts labour separately, and an all-in price entered as it stands would pay the plumber twice. | per point | $150 – $240 | 221,736 FRw – 347,387 FRw | Estimated |
| Sanitary wareImported suite, from the cheapest Chinese to European sanitaryware. | per set | $100 – $340 | 147,824 FRw – 502,602 FRw | Estimated |
| Electrical pointFitted point, wiring included. The same caution as the plumbing about labour, which is counted elsewhere in the data layer. | per point | $8 – $14 | 11,826 FRw – 19,956 FRw | Estimated |
| Distribution board, per wayIEC 60364-4-41 requires automatic disconnection of supply, so it requires the protective devices. State whether the 30 mA residual current device is inside the price of the way. | per way | $12 – $34 | 17,739 FRw – 50,260 FRw | Estimated |
| Earth electrodeIEC 60364-5-54. It is the line most often absent from a house, and without it the residual current device has nothing to measure a fault against. | per installation | $46 – $150 | 67,999 FRw – 214,345 FRw | Estimated |
| Supply cable (4 × 10 mm²)Follows the copper price, so it is to be re-checked more often than the rest of the pack. State whether it is armoured. | per metre | $5 – $13 | 7,391 FRw – 19,217 FRw | Estimated |
| Submersible pumpImported pump. The rating follows the designWater calculation: head, drawdown and tower included, not the catalogue. | each | $150 – $600 | 221,736 FRw – 886,945 FRw | Estimated |
| Tank tower, per metre of heightSteel tower from a local workshop. The height is what makes the pressure at the tap, which is the only reason to pay for it. | per metre | $100 – $340 | 147,824 FRw – 502,602 FRw | Estimated |
| Electric water heater, per litreImported storage heater, 50 to 200 L, sold by the cylinder and not by the litre: the price per litre is our conversion, to be confirmed capacity by capacity. | per litre of capacity | $1 – $4 | 1,996 FRw – 5,322 FRw | Estimated |
| Instantaneous gas water heaterImported appliance, sold by flow rate in L/min. LPG is distributed in bottles in the larger towns. | each | $100 – $300 | 147,824 FRw – 443,472 FRw | Estimated |
| Battery, per nominal kWhFrom flooded lead-acid to lithium. The depth of discharge changes the sizing more than the price does: a lead battery sized on the raw demand is flattened within a season. | per kWh | $170 – $400 | 243,910 FRw – 591,297 FRw | Estimated |
| Rig-drilled borehole, per metre (beyond 40 m)The same caution as the hand-drilling line. The hand-to-machine ratio is taken from the UNICEF/pS-Eau guide for want of a local equivalent: it is the ratio that is borrowed, not the price. | per metre | $180 – $380 | 258,692 FRw – 561,732 FRw | Estimated |
| Tile adhesive (25 kg bag)Imported or locally formulated adhesive. Confirm the bag weight, 25 kg being assumed here: that is the usual sticking point on this line. | per bag | $5 – $12 | 7,391 FRw – 17,739 FRw | Estimated |
| Fibre-cement corrugated sheetFibre-cement sheet, dimensions to be confirmed with the seller: with no length and no width, a price per sheet never becomes a price per m². | per sheet | $10 – $17 | 14,043 FRw – 25,130 FRw | Estimated |
| LabourerNo legal minimum wage applies in Rwanda: the 1974 order was never revised and is not enforced. The band is set between neighbouring Tanzania and Kenya, on regional comparison and not on any text. It is the least verifiable line in this pack. | per day | $3 – $5 | 3,696 FRw – 7,391 FRw | Estimated |
| MasonAbout three times the labourer rate, the ratio observed in East Africa. No legal floor frames it: see this pack’s note on wages. | per day | $8 – $15 | 11,826 FRw – 22,174 FRw | Estimated |
| Carpenter / formworkerThe same grade as the mason in local practice: formwork is paid at the skilled structural rate. | per day | $8 – $15 | 11,826 FRw – 22,174 FRw | Estimated |
| SteelfixerThe same grade as the mason: steelfixing is paid at the same day rate. | per day | $8 – $15 | 11,826 FRw – 22,174 FRw | Estimated |
| ElectricianAbove the mason: a skilled trade, personal tools, and work that is expensive to put right when it is done badly. | per day | $10 – $19 | 14,782 FRw – 28,087 FRw | Estimated |
| PlumberThe same grade as the electrician: a skilled trade, and an expensive one to put right when a leak appears in finished work. | per day | $10 – $19 | 14,782 FRw – 28,087 FRw | Estimated |
| PainterBetween the labourer and the mason: the movement is learned quickly but the finish shows, so the rate sits above the labourer. | per day | $6 – $11 | 8,869 FRw – 16,261 FRw | Estimated |
| TilerThe same grade as the mason: the difficulty is in the setting out and the flatness, not in the strength. | per day | $8 – $15 | 11,826 FRw – 22,174 FRw | Estimated |
| Site foremanSupervision, about twice a mason. It is the item the productivity factor moves most: without one, labour costs 35% more in days. | per day | $15 – $28 | 22,174 FRw – 41,391 FRw | Estimated |
Importing: what the border adds
A foreign invoice gets compared against a delivered local price while carrying none of the charges that get it to the same place. Enter your supplier’s CIF quotation: duty, the agency levies and VAT are added in the order the administration applies them.
With no quotation entered, the local price stands in as a worked example.
| CIF value (before the border) | $1,300 |
| Customs duty (10%) | + $130 |
| Maritime freight levy | + $76 |
| Import quality inspection | + $26 |
| Industrial Promotion Fund | + $26 |
| Clearing agent and file charges | + $39 |
| VAT (16%) | + $230 |
| Landed cost, charges included | $1,850 |
Once cleared, importing costs more than the local market.
Landed cost, charges included: $1,850 · Local market: $1,300
Total charges on the CIF value: 40% · Industrial inputs
Assigning a material to a duty band is an interpretation: the rate follows the HS code your agent declares, and agents differ. The rates and the VAT are sourced; the split between agencies is our apportionment of a sourced total.
Sources
- Coût de construction résidentielle au Rwanda : 300 000 à 600 000 RWF par mètre carré selon la complexité de la conception et les matériaux(retrieved August 17, 2026)
- Taux de change moyen du franc rwandais en 2026 : 1 458,58 RWF pour 1 USD, dans une fourchette annuelle de 1 452,00 à 1 467,15(retrieved August 17, 2026)
- Villes secondaires du Rwanda désignées officiellement (Rubavu, Musanze, Muhanga, Rusizi, Huye et Nyagatare), dont les plans directeurs font l’objet d’une revue nationale et où le système de permis de construire a été déployé en premier(retrieved August 30, 2026)
- Hausse marquée des prix du ciment au Rwanda sur 2025, les grands chantiers absorbant environ la moitié d’une production nationale de 1,5 million de tonnes ; le dernier prix de détail ferme publié à Kigali reste 12 500 à 13 000 RWF le sac de 50 kg en 42,5, avec 11 500 chez Prime Cement(retrieved August 30, 2026)
- Page « sable et gravier » d’un fournisseur de matériaux de Kigali, datée du 1er novembre 2025 : 13 800 à 14 800 RWF, sans que l’unité (m³, tonne ou conditionnement) soit précisée dans le texte publié(retrieved August 30, 2026)