The Kabale-Kisoro road in Western Uganda is one of the country’s most scenic routes. It passes through an extensive bamboo forest, as well as the “Kanaba Gap”, where a clear view of the volcanoes in Rwanda can be seen. It’s not surprising that the road is a favourite for both tourists and locals alike.
This Northern Corridor Route acts as Uganda’s main transport artery to and from the Port of Mombasa in Kenya. It is also a vital link to the Indian Ocean for neighbouring countries of Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Construction of the100km road commenced in 2007. The project was initially projected to cost US$90million, but the original designs were changed, increasing the cost to US$140million.
The road starts at the town of Kabale, connects to Kisoro and runs through to the DRC border at Bunagana. At Kisoro town, a 6km spur connects the road to Kyanika at the Rwandan border, thus connecting the road networks of both DRC and Rwanda. It also has a 5km long southern diversion road to the airstrip at Kisoro, which connects the Kisoro–Kyanika link.
Background of the road construction
The Government of Uganda received a loan from the African Development Fund towards the cost of the Road Sector Support Project 1. A portion of this fund was used for the upgrading of the Kabale-Kisoro gravel road to paved (bitumen) standard.
The Uganda National Roads Authority was the implementing agency for the scheme, which was constructed by SBI International Holdings, AG. SBI is part of an international construction and development group that specialises in large scale housing and commercial building, roads, tunnels, bridges, airports and other infrastructure projects.
Mott MacDonald was responsible for design review and construction supervision on the project, working in association with Kagga and Partners.
Scope of work
The road was originally a Class C gravel road, before being upgraded to paved road standard. The carriageway now has a 6m asphalt surface width throughout, with asphalt surfaced shoulders of 1m in mountainous terrain and 1.5m in flat terrain.
The scope of works for the upgrading included; cutting and filling operations to provide relevant road width, preparation of roadbed and construction of sub-base, roadbase and placement of asphalt concrete or double surface seal surfacing, rehabilitation and maintenance of drainage pipes and structures, construction of new drains and culverts, construction of stone filled gabion walls, construction of footways, parking areas for lorries, buses etc, provision of road signs and markings together with guard rails, landscaping and grassing.
Materials used
Local materials were used throughout construction and existing road material was used where possible to achieve the required roadbed strength. This stopped the need to import gravel material. Construction materials used included bitumen, cement, steel, asphalt and pavers which were all in conformity with the industry standards.
Impact of the road construction on the environment
There is always an impact to the environment, with any road construction activity. However, during the construction of the Kabale-Kisoro highway, the team of contractors endeavoured to minimise the risks. According to Mr. Shay Cameo, managing director of SBI International holdings AG, an environmental management plan was prepared and approved by the Uganda National Environment Management Authority before construction started. This provided guidelines to ensure that minimum disruption to the environment was achieved during construction.
SBI contracted a consultant who visited the project on a regular basis to advise on best practice in environmental preservation. All borrow pits and quarries used during construction have now been reinstated – some are fully rehabilitated while others are in the process of full rehabilitation.
The scheme also included a number of social implications. Nancy Engerran, senior project manager at Mott MacDonald, stated that a special provision was made in the contract for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted disease alleviation measures, as well as gender management throughout the period of construction. Education, testing, treatment and provision of condoms all formed part of the measures.
Economic activities around the area
There has been tremendous growth in different businesses in agriculture, retail merchandise, urbanisation and tourism since the completion of the project. “Tourist visits to the Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks and other tourist sites such as Lake Bunyonyi are expected to increase, since it now takes half of the time it used to take to reach these areas,” commented Mr. Shay.
Besides improving regional co-operation in the Great Lakes Region, the upgrading of the road will also enhance the administrative and social coverage. The road has reduced the journey time from Kabale to Kisoro significantly, while also improving road safety for travellers. According to regular road users along the route, journey time has been shortened by 40percent.
Challenges faced
Foremost, the hilly terrain of the area made work difficult for those involved on the project. Additional challenges were faced as the road passes through ecologically sensitive areas of the Ebuya Forest Reserve, as well as Lake Bunyonyi and landslide-prone steep mountain terrain. The road stretch is also close to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mountain Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Secondly, the road had to be widened by cutting rocky surfaces to achieve the desired width, while at the same time remaining open to traffic throughout the construction period. This was extremely difficult, bearing in mind the topography and the narrow existing road.
Theft of construction materials onsite was also a concern. Not only did this delay construction, but also caused financial problems as additional materials that had not been budgeted for had to be bought to replace stolen supplies.
At the same time, the location of many of the swamps along the route required additional geotechnical investigations to help propose the best solution to avoid them.
All of these challenges, when coupled with the fact that the construction of the Kabale-Kisoro road was completed during the rainy season show that the project was not an easy one. But the project was successfully completed on time in September 2012, a truly impressive feat and by no means thanks to the experience, hard work and diligence of everyone involved.
Project team
Uganda National Roads Authority- Employer
SBI International holdings AG (Uganda) – Contractor
Mott MacDonald- Design Review and Construction Supervision
Kagga & Partners- Construction Supervision
Suppliers: – Hima Cement, Shell, Total, Kobil, Termcotank, Steel Rolling mills etc.
Great Job. One needs to have travelled on it before when it was gravel to appreciate the difference, and the travel time saved.