Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are jointly investing in a border road scheme to increase trade between the countries.
The 223km project, set to cost $334.5m, will be a joint venture, with Uganda and DRC each contributing $66.9m (20%) and private investors funding the remaining 60%.
The road will run from the Kasindi border in the DRC, complemented by construction of another road from Bunagana in Uganda’s southwestern district of Kisoro through Ruchuru in the DRC up to Goma, also in the DRC.
General Edward Katumba Wamala, Ugandan minister for works and transport, said the scheme would significantly boost trade for Uganda.
He told state newspaper New Vision that Uganda was guaranteed a high return on investment from the project.
Uganda earned $532m from trade with DRC in 2018, and a well-constructed road network could considerably increase this sum, he said.
Meanwhile the country imported goods worth $34.49m from the DRC, he said.
“There has been some misinterpretation about why Uganda is developing infrastructure in DRC,” said Wamala.
“We do not operate in isolation. We have obligations that are bilateral, regional and international. When [Uganda’s and the DRC’s] presidents met, they noted that poor road network was the impediment to trade.”
Uganda last year decided to increase its focus on trade with the DRC after a diplomatic row last year with Rwanda. This led to Uganda claiming its neighbour had closed its borders to Ugandan goods and it stopped Rwandans from visiting Uganda.
Rwanda denied it had closed the border.
According to the Uganda Road Fund (URF), Uganda has approximately 140,000km of roads, of which around 78,000km are tarmac roads.
World Bank figures suggest Uganda loses around $800m per year in GDP due to traffic congestion, especially in and around Kampala.
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