A United States based engineering company, Parsons, has been issued a contract by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to expand rural roads in Rwanda.

Parsons is an engineering, construction, technical, and management services firm with annual revenues amounting to over US$2.7 billion.

The expansion is designed to benefit the Rwandan economy by supporting regional trade and giving farmers improved access to markets for their crops.

Under this contract, Parsons will provide a roads inventory and condition assessments, prioritisation, planning, preparation of technical designs, procurement support, and construction supervision for 1,000km of road improvements.

Efforts to contact the State Minister for Transport Alex Nzahabwanimana on details of the project were fruitless by press time as he was not picking up his phone.

Currently operational in 24 countries worldwide, the Rwanda project will train and employ local labour with women comprising  at least 30 percent of the workforce.

Parsons will also provide training on procurement to district governments to build local expertise and ultimately enable the districts to tender maintenance programs directly to rural communities.

"Parsons is pleased to support USAID’s goal to ‘feed the future’ by developing sustainable road infrastructure in Africa,” said Parsons Group President, Todd Wager.

"Parsons has worked in Africa for close to 50 years and has supported many USAID projects in Africa with design, engineering, and construction services to improve lives by delivering clean water, reliable power, and improved transportation.”

This happens as government embarks on constructing and renovating thousands of kilometres of roads across the country, which is estimated to take seven years.

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