Ugandan president commissions Gulu-Juba highway
May 10, 2012 (JUBA) – Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday officially commissioned the long-awaited construction of the Gulu-Nimule highway, which will directly link Uganda to the Republic of South Sudan with a paved road for the first time.
The construction of the 104km highway, reportedly delayed due to tender disputes, will be undertaken by China Henan International Cooperation Group Limited.
An estimated $36m (sh89bn) has been earmarked for the project, which is expected to be completed in August 2014. The project will have two phases; with the first covering the construction of the Gulu-Atiak road, while the second phase will cover Atiak-Nimule road.
“We are here to launch the construction of Gulu-Atiak road and later on Atiak-Nimule road. This is what I promised you during the elections. Northern Uganda will be rehabilitated; but also developed. When we talk of rehabilitation we mean repairing all the old infrastructures. NRM is not only talking of repairing the old infrastructures but also building new ones,” Museveni said in a statement.
Upgrading the road from gravel to tarmac, Museveni said, will attract foreign investors and thus improve the Uganda’s direct foreign investment.
Ahmadou Moustapha Ndiaye, the World Bank country manager for Uganda, said the commissioning of the road project clearly “demonstrates that World Bank’s lending is bearing some fruits.”
Apart from funding the road construction, Ndiaye said the world’s largest financial institution is already exploring ways of supporting road safety mechanisms through the establishment of a National Roads Safety Authority (NRSA).
Tarmacking of the Gulu-Juba highway, analysts say, will enhance South Sudan’s integration into the East African Community (EAC); a regional body that currently comprises Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi as member states.
(ST)