Rwanda's "food basket" to get better highway connection

18 November 2009

A region known as Rwanda's food basket could stand to benefit from the rehabilitation of a 115-kilometre road network connecting it to the capital.

The western and southern regions will be linked up to Kigale and the rest of the country will have facilitated access to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwandan newspaper the New Times reported.

Parliament approved the $23.5 million (£14 million) grant from the African Development Bank this week and asserted the improvement would improve the living condition of residents.

"The objective of the project is to open up the rural areas to increase sub-regional trade," the political body was quoted by the news source as stating.

Maintenance of the Butare-Kitabi-Ntendezi road network is also included in the sum.

Recently, engineer Linda Bihire of the country's ministry of infrastructure commented that Rwanda's unique topography was presenting a great number of obstacles in the way of transport development.

She was quoted by the New Times as saying the country currently lacked the resources to take on these challenges on its own.

Category: Transport