Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has assured the people of Kyotera that the government is committed to rehabilitating the Masaka-Kyotera-Mutukula road to ease transport and trade in the region.
The Masaka-Kyotera-Mutukula 90km road connects Uganda to Tanzania and is another route for imports and exports into and out of the country. Nabbanja says the government under the Uganda National Roads Authority(UNRA) is now identifying a contractor to rehabilitate and expand the road.
Nabbanja’s assurance came as she presided over the Kyotera districts’ Women’s Day celebrations at Kyotera grounds in Kyotera town council on Saturday March 18th 2023.
“I talked to the UNRA Executive Director Ms. Allen Kagina and she told me that they are now under the bidding process to choose the best contractor to reconstruct the road,” PM Nabbanja revealed.
The 96km-road was built in the 1960s to link and promote trade ties and cooperation between Uganda, Tanzania, and the rest of the East African partners. However, the current state of the road is appalling and hindering the smooth movement of commercial trucks and other vehicles.
In December 2022, area members of parliament together with motorists demonstrated against the poor state of the road but nothing much was done as the funds were not available.
The rehabilitation project will be funded by an AfDB grant under the NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF).
According to UNRA, the project is to utilize the already acquired space (road reserves), there shall be some land acquisitions on some sections, were climbing lanes have been deemed necessary per the technical designs and Only those to be affected as in 2 above, shall be compensated as soon as funds become available. No compensations shall be given for the already acquired reserves. At least 2,000 residents are expected to be affected by the project.
The designs which were done by M/S LEA International Limited from Canada in a joint venture with LEA Associates Asia Pvt Ltd from India, covered 89.5 kilometers of the Masaka– Kyotera- Mutukula road section in Uganda, a 30 km section from Mutukula to Kyaka linking to a 133 km in Tanzania, from Bugene to Kumunazi via Kasulo.
In November, 2017 the East African Community Secretariat in Arusha– Tanzania signed a Financing Agreement of US$1,151,515 with the AfDB to finance the Project Preparation Phase of three (3) key Multinational Road Sections between Masaka in Uganda to Kumunazi in Tanzania. The consultancy contract was signed in August 2018 with the consultant, M/s LEA international Limited in a joint venture with LEA Associate.5
In addition, the detailed designs of the 250 km Nyakanazi – Kasulu – Manyovu road in Tanzania which links to the 78 km Rumonge – Bujumbura road in Burundi; and the 92 km Lusahunga – Rusumo road in Tanzania linking to the 70 km Kayonza – Kigali road in Rwanda were also completed.
Masaka–Kyotera-Mutukula Road is a road in the Central Region of Uganda, connecting Masaka City, to the border town of Mutukula in Kyotera District.
The road stars in Masaka, near the Uganda Police barracks, where this road forms a T-junction with Broadway Road. The road continues in a southwesterly direction, through Kalisizo, Kyotera and ends in Mutukula, at the international border with Tanzania, a total length of about 90 kilometres (56 mi).
This road is part of the East African Community Road Network Project. It is the main road transport corridor between Uganda and Tanzania. The road is divided into two sections:
(a) Masaka–Kyotera section, which measures 44 kilometres (27 mi), was built in 1960s and has begun to deteriorate and (b) Kyotera–Mutukula section, measuring 46 kilometres (29 mi), was originally constructed in the 1960s and was upgraded to class II bitumen standards in 2003 with a loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB). Section (b) was in good condition, as of 2006, while section (a) was in need of an upgrade.
In January 2020, the government of Uganda began preparations to upgrade and expand the road, using funds sourced from the African Development Bank. The single-carriageway road will be upgraded to class II bitumen surface, with culverts and drainage channels. The road width will be increased to 11 metres (36 ft). In the town of Kyotera, the width will be further increased to accommodate a 3 metres (10 ft) parking lane.
