Ngozi

Ngozi is one of Burundi’s principal secondary urban centres and a service hub for the densely populated north. Its growth increases demand for paved streets, drainage, markets and public facilities, while municipal resources remain limited for maintaining and extending infrastructure into newer neighbourhoods.

Burundi’s urban-development programmes have included Ngozi in investments in roads, drainage and market facilities alongside measures to strengthen local government. These relatively basic works have an important spatial effect in a secondary city: they improve access to commercial areas, reduce erosion and flooding along streets and create a more reliable framework for future settlement. Ngozi’s development therefore depends on sustaining municipal infrastructure as the city grows, rather than allowing neighbourhood expansion to widen the gap between the urban core and poorly serviced peripheral areas.