Muhanga District has started construction of 4.788 kilometres of urban road network.

They include the roads connecting Kibirigi Centre to Kabgayi Hospital and from Kugeramugozi rice marshland to Integrated Craft Production Centre (Agakiriro), according to the district public relations officer, Liberata Mukankusi.

The construction, launched on Wednesday by the Minister of State in charge of Socio-Economic Development, Cyriaque Harelimana, will be done by Chinese Road and Bridge Corporation.

The $4 million construction project is expected to last three months.

Mukankusi said the roads would ease transportation for goods to the market and movement of patients to Kabgayi Hospital.

The roads construction is part of Rwanda Urban Development Project (RUDP) funded by the World Bank.

Approved by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors last March, the $95 million project is meant to support urbanisation strategy through targeted infrastructure development and support economic development in six secondary cities.

The Urban Development Project is geared toward supporting provision of basic infrastructure to enhance living conditions in six secondary cities of Muhanga, Rubavu, Rusizi, Nyagatare, Huye, and Musanze, according to information from the World Bank country office.

Eligible investments are those directly under the mandate of the local governments such as roads, drainage, solid waste management, and sanitation.

"To create an enabling environment for economic development, roads and associated infrastructure improvements will be made to connect different Agakiriro centres, commercial areas in the urban core, industrial parks, and Business Development and Employment Centres,” the World Bank said.

More than 500,000 people in the six secondary cities will directly benefit from the project as will the 19,000 residents of the four cells in the unplanned settlement of Nyarugenge District in Kigali.

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