Busega-Mpigi and Kagitumba-Kayonza-Rusumo road project

project in construction

The Multinational Busega–Mpigi and Kagitumba–Kayonza–Rusumo Roads Project involves the upgrading and expansion of critical infrastructure segments along the Northern Corridor to enhance cross-border connectivity between Uganda and Rwanda.In Uganda, the core component is the 27.3-km Busega–Mpigi Expressway, a four-lane dual carriageway that starts at Busega in Kampala's Rubaga Division and extends southwest through Kyengera, Nabbingo, and Nsangi to Mpigi town, incorporating a greenfield route with 13 bridges totaling 709 meters, four major interchanges (including the pivotal Busega Interchange linking to the Northern Bypass and Entebbe–Kampala Expressway), four toll plazas, 54 km of lined drainage channels, service lanes, and 21.3 km of new link roads to connect nearby areas like Katende, Bujuuko, and Lungala. This section aims to alleviate severe traffic congestion that currently inflates travel times to over two hours, reducing them to under 45 minutes upon completion while improving safety, lowering transport costs, and facilitating access to markets, social services, and economic opportunities for more than one million residents and traders in the surrounding districts. Complementing this, the project encompasses the Kagitumba–Kayonza–Rusumo Roads on the Rwanda-Uganda border, involving complementary upgrades to ensure seamless freight and passenger movement, with integrated one-stop border post facilities. Overall, the initiative, now totaling €424.61 million (US$489 million) for the Uganda portion following recent scope expansions, incorporates land compensation for affected communities (with over 90% completed).Construction, handled by a consortium of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway 19th Bureau Group, resumed in early 2025 after pandemic-related halts and funding gaps, standing at approximately 46% physical completion as of mid-year with ongoing earthworks, swamp treatments, and bridge superstructures; full handover is slated for 2030.