NEW ROAD LINK MAKES TRAVEL BETWEEN RWANDA AND UGANDA EASIER
(Posted 16th September 2015)
The newly reconstructed main Rwanda to Uganda road link from Kigali to the border in Gatuna – the nearest Ugandan town then is Kabale – has been officially opened to traffic yesterday. Built over the past three and a half years at a cost of nearly 63 million Euros was the project substantially funded by the European Union to help boost the Northern traffic corridor from the port of Mombasa to the hinterland countries of Uganda, Rwanda and Eastern Congo. The EU reportedly availed some 57 million Euros in bilateral aid towards the construction while the Rwandan government injected over 5 million Euros equivalent in local currency, the Rwanda Franc.
The newly upgraded section is some 78 kilometres long and thought to be a critical factor for improved road connectivity between Rwanda and Uganda.
A second axis is being constructed to and from the Ugandan border post of Mirama Hill, where only recently a one stop centre, housing both Ugandan and Rwandan customs, immigration and security officials, has been inaugurated.
The reconstructed road link is of importance to the two countries’ trade but also the important tourism sectors as road transport from the tourism hub of Kabala will now more easily transit into Rwanda. However, the border crossing from Kisoro to Cyanika and on to Musanze appears to be equally if not more popular with tourists who have gone for hikes and gorilla tracking on the Nkuringo side of Bwindi National Park.
