Ruhengeri-Gisenyi road construction begins

NORTHERN PROVINCE The long-awaited renovation of the Ruhengeri-Gisenyi road has finally begun after legendary poor maintenance and recent devastating rains battered the artery. The 65 kilometre road is expected to take three years to renovate. At 7 metres wide, it is one of the more important passage ways in the country, linking the capital Kigali to tourist centres in Musanze and Gisenyi. STRABAG Construction Company, building the road, is likely to displace many residents settled adjacent to the road especially in Busogo and Nyabihu. Vice-mayor in charge of economic affairs Anonciata Bundengeri said that those who will be displaced would be compensated and re-settled elsewhere. Renovation agreements look to not only upgrade the quality of the road, but to lay lines to electricity and telecommunications wiring. Residents turned up in big numbers to get jobs on the construction site, as others who are close to the road started shifting their property to give way to workers. Ends