The Rwanda Transport Development Authority (RTDA) has signed two construction contracts for the first phase of a project to upgrade roads linking Rwanda with neighboring Burundi.
A team from the China Roads and Bridges Corporation (CRBC) and Rwanda’s NPD has been selected to rehabilitate the 51km Sashwara-Lega-Mutobu-Kabuhanga-Busasamana-Muhat road, located in Nyabihu and Rubavu districts in the northwest, on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The joint venture will be constructed over 36 months at a cost of Rwandan Francs 51.3 billion (US$36.8 million).
China’s Stekol has been awarded a 18-month contract worth Rwanda’s 16.8 billion francs (US$12 million) to upgrade the 18km Nyagisozi-Lemera-Nsiri border road in the southern Nyaruguru district.
The African Development Bank (AfDB), which is supporting the entire project, announced the contract conclusion in mid-January. Bids were invited in mid-October 2023 and received five responses each. This work includes upgrading the line to a single-lane asphalt standard road.
Source: Project ESIA Report, June 2022
The entire Rwanda/Burundi Road Rehabilitation Project aims to improve transport connectivity between Burundi and Rwanda by renovating the missing links of the Central and Northern Corridors in both countries. The road improvements are expected to strengthen regional integration and trade in the East African Community (EAC) region.
Currently, in Rwanda and Burundi, both landlocked countries, incomplete transportation networks and poor infrastructure are said to be constraints on achieving their respective national development goals. For this reason, this cross-border project aims to reduce high trade costs between the two countries, where the ratio of transportation costs for imports and exports is said to be approximately four times higher than that of fellow East African countries Kenya and Tanzania.
In Rwanda, work under the first phase of the plan includes feasibility and detailed engineering design studies for the 68km Gitisnyonyi-Rulindo-Gakenke road, the 121km east-west border crossing route, and the One Stop Border Post (OSBP) at Akanyar Hout on the border with Burundi.
In Burundi, the first stage is to improve 75km of cross-border routes: 23km between Kayanza and Kanyar Hout on RN1, 25km between Ngozi-Mihigo and Kanyar Basu on RN15, and 27km between Rwegura and Buyumbu border post on RN22.
Research will also be carried out on the rehabilitation of approximately 60km of unpaved roads in RN1, RN6, RN15 and RN22, and the resurfacing of 25km of urban roads in Kayanza and 28km of Ngozi.
In early February 2024, the Burundi Roads Agency (ARB) published an expression of interest for a technical and environmental feasibility study for three sections of road, with the consultancy firm expected to respond by the 23rd of the same month.
In mid-November 2024, ARB issued a tender for a detailed engineering feasibility study and architectural design for the Burundi section of the OSBP. The deadline was December 7th.
The total cost of the first phase of the Rwanda/Burundi Road Rehabilitation Project is US$75.4 million and is being funded by the AfDB and the governments of both countries. The Burundi portion of the project is expected to be completed by December 2026 and the Rwanda portion by February 2028.
The second phase of the Rwanda/Burundi road project will include the construction and equipping of OSBPs in both countries, in addition to the road works in Burundi considered in the first phase. Additionally, the remaining sections of Rwanda’s border road, approximately 144km in total, are scheduled to be completed.
Top photo: Road construction in Rwanda (Source: X/Twitter @ RTDA)
