Members of Parliament from the Public Infrastructure Committee (PIC) yesterday started a tour of the eastern and north-eastern regions as part of their supervisory role in the infrastructure sector of the nation.
Leading the tour, Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) Executive Director Allen Kagina, was joined by UNRA leadership members that include Director Roads & Bridges Construction, Eng Sam Muhoozi, and Director Roads Maintenance, Eng Joseph Otim. In the discussion, the Members of Parliament applauded UNRA for leading the Government of Uganda’s effort to improve the country’s competitiveness by investing to reduce transport costs and improve transport interconnectivity.
Led by David Karubanga, Chairperson PIC, the 20 MPs from the committee received an update on the various road construction & upgrading programs that are being undertaken by UNRA.
At 97% completed, the location of the project road is in Eastern part of Uganda and traverses the districts of Pallisa, Butebo, Kumi, Budaka and Kibuku. The road starts from Tirinyi on Iganga- Mbale highway via Pallisa Town Council, Oladot, Mukongoro trading centers and ends in Kumi. The works consist of upgrading of 67km from gravel to class II standard paved roads with asphalt concrete carriageway of 7m wide throughout and 1.5m wide Asphalt concrete shoulders on each side.
At 99.1% complete, the second project being inspected traverses the districts of Pallisa, Kumi, Budaka and Kibuku. The road starts from Pallisa on Tirinyi- Kumi Road via Puti-Puti and Iki-Iki trading centres and ends at Kamonkoli on Iganga-Mbale Road. The works consist of upgrading of 44Km from gravel to class II standard paved roads with asphalt concrete carriageway of 7m wide throughout and 1.5m wide Asphalt concrete shoulders on each side.
“It’s incredible the transformation this region has undergone with the completion of these two roads. The towns are now sprouting with trade and social services,” Kagina observed, adding: “With such projects, we are contributing to the Government’s aspiration of equitable distribution of prosperity through increased economic activity.”
dfcu Bank Partners with Jubilee Health to Launch BlueCare Health Insurance Solution
Floods that were common place in Pallisa district, owing to the overflows from Limoto swamp, rendered the district completely cut off from trade, health services, schools to mention but a few. The construction of the road has ensured that no matter the down pour, Pallisa remains interconnected with other districts.
“Using your internal capacity, UNRA, you have supervised this project excellently. We need more national roads being supervised internally by UNRA,” said David Karubanga
The Tirinyi- Pallisa- Kumi Road (67Km) project cost is UGX 274,124,619,957 and is funded by Islamic Development Bank (62%) and Government of Uganda (38%). The Pallisa- Kamonkoli Road (44Km) project cost is UGX 205,513,281,332.62 and is funded by Islamic Development Bank (76.6%) and Government of Uganda (23.4%).
Promoting local content
In what is now a standard in all UNRA projects, promotion of local capacity is being adhered to. With 574 Ugandans (96%) and 33 expatriates (6%), UNRA is being intentional in supporting the Government effort to promote local construction capacity. These local contractors are currently undergoing skills development and can participate in the national road development program.
