Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the President of Uganda and Félix Tshisekedi, President of Democratic Republic of Congo, have launched the Mpondwe Bridge in Kasese district in a scientific launch, in adherence to the Standard Operating Procedures for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19.
The bridge, constructed by Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) was declared officially open at 4:00pm, East African Standard time.
Speaking after the launch, Tshisekedi lauded President Museveni on ensuring that the bridge was constructed.
“As brothers, instead of looking to build walls, it’s better to build bridges. This initiative is what we must continue doing. This is a great project,” Tshisekedi said
UNRA Director Network Planning, Eng. Isaac Wani, speaking on behalf of the Executive Director, said: “Excellence in execution is an ideal we strive to achieve every day at UNRA. We are proud that the new Mpondwe Bridge was excellently constructed and is robust enough to handle all the current and anticipated vehicular traffic from Uganda to DRC and vice versa.”
He added: “Uganda needs to grow its efforts to deepen regional integration as a means of facilitating greater trade opportunities, one key enabler of this is great roads and bridges. We are committed to facilitating bilateral trade between Uganda and DRC.”
Mpondwe Bridge is located on Kampala-Mubende-Fort Portal-Uganda/DRC Border Road, at Mpondwe Trading Centre. It runs over River Lhubiriha at the Uganda – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) border. The bridge was constructed under the supervision of the Director Roads and Bridges, Eng David Muhoozi, at the Uganda National Roads Authority.
The Mpondwe bridge project was constructed to replace the old Bailey bridge with a new and permanent bridge, as the Bailey Bridge was deemed unsafe for the heavy vehicular traffic that comprises of heavy cargo trucks due to wear and tear.
The construction of the Mpondwe Bridge is a deliberate initiative by UNRA in addressing constraints to productivity growth in the trade, manufacturing and agricultural sectors in Uganda and across the region.