Construction of the 74km Mukono-Katosi-Nyenga road in the central region of the republic of Uganda is over 70% complete. This is according to the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) head of corporate communications, Mr. Mark Ssali.
“Approximately 54km of the road has been tarmacked and we expect the remaining 20km to be tarmacked as well, by the end of this year.” said Mr. Ssali.
Implemented by a consortium, composed of Solel Boneh International and Reynolds Construction Company, the project began about five years ago at a cost of close to US $77m.
Impact of the road
Even though incomplete, the Mukono-Katosi-Nyenga road has so far had a lot of tremendous positive impacts on the towns it passes through. For instance, it has decongested and reduced the possibilities of road catastrophes on the accident-prone Kampala-Jinja highway by creating an alternative route for motorists. It has also created another route, the Mukono-Kayunga-Njeru road, connecting to the eastern part of the country.
Passengers can now access vehicles plying the route at any given time and traders have something to smile about as it is currently taking them shorter time to get their products to the markets.
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The Buikwe District chairperson, Mr. Mathias Kigongo, said that due to the tarmacking of the road a lot of people are now rushing to purchase plots along the route while others have developed trading centres, with new and well-planned buildings.
On the other hand, Ms. Milly Kinaalwa, the female councilor representing Nkokonjeru, Ssi-Bukunja and Ngogwe sub-counties in Buikwe said that those who were compensated for their land have built permanent residential structures giving the area a new look.
“What was once a remote Bukunja area has transformed into a modern one, where people are yearning to live,” Ms. Kinaalwa commented.
