President Yoweri Museveni and his DRC counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi on Wednesday held the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of road networks connecting the two countries.
At a function held in Mpondwe, Museveni received Tshisekedi at the Mpondwe bridge that separates the two countries.
Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed major agreements that will see the two countries bolster cross border trade and development and stabilize Eastern Congo that is wrought with pockets of instability.
“This is just butter on a bread roll. Peace is the bread and roads are the butter. We are ready to work on three things, security, roads and electricity. Even if we don’t do anything else for now, people on both sides will be happy with these,” Museveni said at the signing ceremony held at State House, Entebbe last month.
He had earlier said that Uganda badly needs the road projects.
At the function, the two presidents also officially opened the Mpondwe bridge in Kasese district, located on the Kampala-Mubende-Fort Portal-Uganda/DRC Border Road and runs over River Lhubiriha at the Uganda – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) border.
The Mpondwe bridge project undertaken by Uganda National Roads Authority(UNRA) was undertaken to replace the old Bailey Bridge which was deemed unsafe for the heavy vehicular traffic that comprises of heavy cargo trucks due to wear and tear.
DRC road projects
Uganda is set to construct 223km of roads inside the Democratic Republic of Congo to a tune of Shs243.7 billion.
Whereas the first road will run from Kasindi to Beni (80km), the second one will integrate the Beni-Butebo axis (54km).
The third road will move for 89 kilometres from the border town of Bunagana, through Rutshuru to the strategic city of Goma, the capital of the North Kivu Province in DRC.
Uganda was recently deployed a sizeable number of troops inside the DRC and this has partly been explained by insiders as a move meant to safeguard the country’s interests , especially in the volatile Eastern part of Congo.
It is also said that the troops will help secure the road construction works which are set to kick off soon.
