Unra to construct broken bridges in Yumbe, Moyo
Happy. Residents jubilate on Amua Bridge as they welcomed district leaders after Unra announced that they would construct the broken bridges. PHOTO BY SCOVIN ICETA
What you need to know:
- In 2006, Parliament approved a proposal by government to borrow $7m from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa to construct 21 bridges in West Nile.
- The project, which will be implemented under the Ministry of Works, constitutes funding of the first phase in the construction of 66 bridges.
YUMBE/MOYO. The Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) has secured funds meant for the construction of the broken Jure and Amua bridges in Yumbe and Moyo districts respectively, all in West Nile Sub-region.
Unra has contracted China Hehan International Cooperation Group Limited (CHICO) Construction Company to undertake works on the two projects.
The works are expected to cost Shs13.5 billion over a period of three years.
The Daily Monitor has on several occasions written about the sorry state of the bridges.
Last year, Daily Monitor run a story of Enyau Bridge commonly known as Cilio in Terego that developed huge cracks and had become a death trap.
Speaking during the site handover of Jure Bridge in Odravu Sub-county in Yumbe District at the weekend, Mr Martin Kitayimbwa, the Unra contract manager for the project, said the project design will be drawn within the first six months.
The contractor will then undertake works after the approval of the detailed design plan.
“In the design, we are going to build a big permanent bridge with two lengths and walkways on both sides. It is going to be a concrete bridge which will last for at least 100 years. So, the issue of maintaining bridges after every three months will be history,” he said.
Mr Jeremiah Cheng Liang, the representative of the contractor, said: “We are confident the bridges will be built to last for many years. This is a very important bridge that connects Yumbe to Arua District,” he said.
Mr Akasa Uriga, the representative of the Yumbe District engineer, asked whether an environment impact assessment was conducted before undertaking works.
“River beds have been silted meaning we are discharging silting into the water and during the construction process, the matter of environmental protection should be taken care of,” he said.
Mr Kassim Asiku, the LC3 chairperson of Odravu Sub-county, said Jure Bridge has been in a state of disrepair for long.
Mr Yorke Alioni Odria, the MP for Aringa South, said he had petitioned Unra several times about the bad state of the bridge.
In Moyo District, the broken Amua Bridge in Gbalala Parish, Laropi Sub-county, is to be constructed. The bridge was handed over to the contractor of CHICO.
Mr David Luga, the LC3 chairman of Laropi Sub-county, said the bridge was constructed between 1998 and 2000 and had since collapsed.
This bridge links Obongi County to Dufile Sub-county in Moyo and Nimule Town of South Sudan.
