The government of Uganda through the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNEA) is set to begin the construction of Muyenbe-Nakapiripirit road, in the Eastern and Northern regions of Uganda come next year.
The road starts at Muyembe, the largest city in Eastern Uganda approximately 35km northeast of Mbale. It then continues northwards to end at Nakapiripirit in Nakapiripirit District, a total distance of 148km or thereabouts.
Allen Kagina, UNRA Executive Director, said that the project which is expected to end in three years’ time from its commencement, has already secured funds from the Islamic Development Bank in form of a loan totaling up to US $108.3m.
Land acquisition
The UNRA Executive Director said that so far they have been able to acquire about 60.72km of land required for the construction works and will continue with the acquisition process as the works progress.
“To this point, we have enough land for the contractor, Polat Yol Yapı San. ve Tic. A.Ş, to begin their work as we, on the other hand, continue with the acquisition process which we expect to be entirely complete by June 2020,” she said.
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She also noted that alongside obtaining the land, UNRA will also carry out other activities like stakeholder engagement over the project.
“We will monitor not just the physical construction of the road but how the communities around are affected by the construction. We also have a team that will work closely with the contractors to ensure that the environment is not adversely affected,” she said.
Expectations for the project
Upon completion, the Muyenbe-Nakapiripirit road is expected to significantly contribute to the economic prosperity of Northeastern Uganda. It will assist the administrative and social coverage in the region, reduce vehicle operating costs and improve social services and trading opportunities.
It will also raise the total number of kilometers of roads tarmacked in the Karamoja region from the current 4850km to 4942.2km.
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