Masaka-Mutukula roadworks begin

The long-awaited reconstruction of Masaka-Mutukula Road has finally kicked off, bringing relief to motorists who have endured potholes for the past seven months.

The project was launched on March 20 by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja but delayed to start as the contractor, Chongqing International Construction Corporation (CICO) was still mobilising equipment.

Currently, the 82km road is in a poor state and motorists from Masaka take close to two hours to connect to Mutukula border post, a journey that used to take 45 minutes.

The worst part of the road is the section between Kyotera and Mutukula border town.

Mr Allan Ssempeebwa, the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) spokesperson, said the contractor is now on site and construction works are expected to last 60 months.

“There should be no more worries, everything is going on as planned and we ask motorists, pedestrians and communities along Masaka-Mutukula road to cooperate well with the contractor,” he said during an interview at the weekend.

Currently, the contractor is clearing all the big trees and perimeter walls extending into the road reserve, an act that has left some residents worried.

“Most of the trees that have been cut were of great help to our environment and I’m sure it is going to affect us for a while. It is, therefore, prudent for residents to plant more trees,” Mr John Paul Mpalanyi, the Kyotera County Member of Parliament, said.

Mr Mpalanyi commended the government for fulfilling its promise, which residents had waited for six years for it to be fulfilled.

“Our prayer is that Unra engineers supervise the project so that the contractor doesn’t do shoddy work,” he added

At the launch of the project in March, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, the Minister of Works and Transport, announced that the road would be upgraded to first-class bitumen standards.

He said the government has no plans to compensate individuals who encroached on road reserves and would work within the road's original dimensions.

Under the same agreement, the contractor is also expected to work on the 11km Nyendo-Villa Maria Road, Kasijjagirwa Barracks Road (3. 5km) and Industrial Hub (3.5km) at a tune of Shs629b, according to Gen Wamala. Construction works are expected to last 40 months.

The minister said the government has reached an agreement with the contractor to work for two years (under a pre-financing arrangement), while the government seeks funds to settle the debt.

He said the majority of the labour for the construction work will be sourced from communities along the road, ensuring that local residents benefit from the project.

According to the government’s plan, the contractor is set to reconstruct the road with 3.5-metre-wide lanes and 2.0-metre paved shoulders. Near the border, there will also be 3.5-metre parking lanes to accommodate heavy trucks and 2.5-metre paved walkways.

BACKGROUND

The Masaka-Kyotera-Mutukula road was constructed nearly six decades ago to strengthen trade ties and foster cooperation between Uganda, Tanzania, and other East African partners. The Masaka-Kyotera section (44.2 km) was originally constructed in 1965 and underwent periodic maintenance in 2010, while the Kyotera-Mutukula section (45.3 km) was upgraded to double bituminous surface dressing standard between 2000 and 2003. Since Mutukula became a 24- hour one-stop border post in 2017, there has been a significant increase in the volume of transit cargo passing through. For the past eight years, goods, passengers, and exports traveling between Tanzania and Uganda have only needed to stop once for immigration and customs clearance.