Transport Minister Katumba Wamala Cautions Dott Services To Follow Timelines As Uganda Launches Road Construction In DRC
Uganda’s Minister of Works and Transport, Gen Katumba Wamala, has sounded an early warning to Dott Services Limited, the company undertaking the construction of roads in Eastern DRC to be mindful of project specifications and timelines.
Gen Katumba spoke to journalists in the city of Goma after handing over two sites to Dott with his DRC counterpart Hon Alext Gisara Muvunyi.
”It is my pleasure and honor to be here and witness the site handover for this regional roads project that marks the start of the construction of three roads that connect Uganda to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)” Katumba said.
”I would like to call upon the Contractor and Consultant to be mindful of the project specifications and timelines and ensure adherence to the requirements of our two governments. The project roads are part of the strategic infrastructure projects, including the construction and upgrading of 1,182km of main roads network connecting the two countries, to be implemented by the two countries in the short to the medium term” Katumba added.
Uganda said on Sunday it had launched a road-building project in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo aimed at boosting trade between the two countries and will open the Eastern part of the country (DRC) to cross border trade with Uganda”.
Uganda is keen to tap the market in eastern Congo where decades of insecurity has meant local manufacturing is near non-existent and the population there depends on imports for goods ranging from textiles and construction materials to food and beverages.
Better access to trade with Congo would also help Uganda make up for export revenues lost after Rwanda, formerly a big market for Ugandan goods, shut down its common border with Uganda more than two years ago.
During a function to hand over the road sites, Congo’s Minister for Infrastructure and Public Works, Alexi Gisaro Muvunyi said the roads would “bring jobs and interconnectedness with Uganda” the Ugandan statement said.
