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Work Begins on Sh10.5bn Kapchorwa-Suam Road

The 77 kilometre road will be upgraded from gravel to bitumen standard.

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President Yoweri Museveni (right) and Kenya’s deputy president William Ruto.
President Yoweri Museveni and Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto launch construction of the Kapchorwa-Suam road in Kapchorwa, Uganda, on August 19, 2018. PHOTO | DPPS

Construction has finally begun on the Kapchorwa-Suam Road, which links Uganda’s eastern district of Kapchorwa to Suam – the border post with Kenya, pushing forward a project that is expected to ease the movement of goods between the two countries.

The 77 kilometre road that will be upgraded from gravel to bitumen standard is part of the Kapchorwa-Suam-Kitale road, which is being set up to scale up cross-border trade between Kenya and Uganda.

“The Kapchorwa-Suam-Kitale road will be a major artery linking Kenya and Uganda and will enhance connectivity, stimulate activity and ease movement of people, goods and services,” Deputy President William Ruto said during the project’s launch in Kapchorwa last week.

The Sh10.5 billion road, which is scheduled for completion in 2021, will be financed through loans from the African Development Bank (ADB) and the African Development Fund (ADF).

The Kapchorwa-Suam road starts at Kapchorwa and moves in a westerly direction to Kween, and then in a southerly direction to Bukwo before finally ending at Suam, on the banks of the Suam River, which forms the border between Kenya and Uganda.

At Suam, the highway will join the Kitale-Suam Road – the Kenyan segment of the Kapchorwa-Suam-Kitale road.

RELATED: Chinese Firm to Start Work on Sh4.5bn Kitale-Suam Road

The Kitale-Suam road, which is being undertaken by China State Construction Engineering Corp., starts at Kitale town at the junction of the Kisumu-Kakamega-Kigali-Lodwar-Nadapul road and runs northwards through the trading centre of Endebes and ends at Suam.

Dual carriageway

The project will also involve the construction of a dual carriageway through Kitale town up to Matisi shopping centre, the erection of access roads and the provision of roadside facilities, such as drainage works, street lighting and market stalls.

On completion, the Kapchorwa-Suam-Kitale road is expected to drastically cut the travel time between Kapchorwa and Suam from four hours to one and a half hours, while slicing the journey time between Suam and Kitale by half to slightly over 45 minutes.

The new highway is a vital cross-border carriageway, moving fuel, maize seeds, and fertiliser from Kenya to Uganda, which in turn supplies Kenya with products such as bananas and sugar.

Albert Andeso holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Nairobi. He has extensive experience in construction and has been involved in many roads, bridges, and buildings projects.