The construction of the Huye-Nyaruguru tarmac road is expected to increase pilgrimage to Kibeho. .

The construction, which will start soon, is the result of fifteen bilateral memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and agreements signed by the governments of Rwanda and China on Monday this week.

The signing took place in Kigali as part of the Chinese president Xi Jinping visit to Rwanda.

As part of the signing, Rwanda got a concessional loan worth $77.9 million to construct the 66 kilometre long road, according to Rwanda Transport Development Agency (RTDA) officials.

The 66 kilometre road stretches from Huye District to Kibeho-Munini and Ngoma in Nyaruguru District in Southern Province.

According to Imena Munyampenda, the Special Implementation Unity (SPI) Coordinator at RTDA, the Government has secured the concessional loan and the contractor will start site installation in mid-August.

The contractor was identified as Sinohydro Ltd, a Chinese company in partnership with Horizon Construction, and the execution period is 30 months, according to Munyampanda.

It will be a two-lane road with 7.4 metres wide and will also have street lights in urban sections, he added

Part of the road leads to Kibeho, which is considered by many, especially Catholics, as  holy land because of the historic apparitions by Virgin Mary which occurred between 1981 and 1989, to three teenage girls.

Local leaders in Nyaruguru District and transporters have welcomed the initiative, saying it will boost transport in the area, hence attracting more pilgrims as well as improve transport of goods and people.

Part of the road, according to transport agencies, is no longer in use due to deterioration and public transporters heading to Kibeho opt to use an alternative road making it harder for both transporters and passengers.

Francois Habitegeko, the Mayor of Nyaruguru District, said the construction of the road was long overdue.

He said it will boost not only pilgrimage in the area but also farmers and business community will find it easier to ferry their goods.

"This is an important road as the district is a tourist destination for pilgrims who come for prayers in Kibeho and wanted a better road as the current one is in a poor state,” Habitegeko said on Tuesday during the interview

According to Habitegeko between 300,000 and 400,000 pilgrims flock Kibeho every year.

"We hope the number can double because some people feared to come due the poor road,” he added

"Besides, we hope that transport will be easier for farmers and business community who wanted to ferry their produce and good to or from the market,” he added

Attracting more investment 

The mayor said that the road construction will also attract more investments into the district as investors were reluctant to invest infrastructure development, especially in hospitality because there was no road.

"Most of the investors were reserving themselves because we have no improved road, we hope that more investors will now be interested thanks to the modern road,” he noted

"Tourists will be spending more time there unlike currently when they are obliged to go back home as they don’t have where to stay, hence benefiting investors and the community,” he added

He said that the district has availed land for investors and necessary infrastructure such as water and electricity to encourage investors to start investing in the area.

Appolinaire Ntezimana, head of Horizon transport agency in Nyaruguru District, said they currently find it hard to ferry passengers in the area.

He said, for instance, that currently public transporters have to drive for a longer distance from Huye to Kibeho, a popular destination.

"The construction of Huye- Kibeho road is good news for us;  for instance, currently we are no longer using the road (to Kibeho) as it is in a sorry state, our vehicles could often be damaged and we opted for Kibeho-Nyakizu to Huye which is more than double when you use the normal road,” he said adding that the distance was 27 kilometres using Huye-Kibeho road but it is now 60 kilometres.

He said that passengers also complain of transport fees as it increased from Rwf850 to Rwf1500 between Huye and Kibeho.

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