Govt Signs Deal To Tarmac Pakwach Road

By Charles Opolot THE Government has signed two more contracts for the tarmacking of the 130-kilometre Pakwach-Nebbi-Arua road. This brings to five, the number of contracts signed by the Government for simultaneous tarmacking of over 275 kilometres of road this month. The other roads are Ntungamo-Rukungiri, Busunju-Kiboga-Hoima. The signing ceremonies in Nebbi and Arua towns were characterised by jubilation and politicking. The 54-kilometer Pakwach-Nebbi road agreement was signed at Nebbi boma ground by Charles Muganzi, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Works, and Gou Jun of China Road and Bridge corporation, the contractors. The tarmacking of both roads is expected to begin this month and will last 36 months at a cost of sh24b for the Pakwach-Nebbi road and sh44b for that of Nebbi-Arua. Both roads will be six metres wide, have high-class tarmac with two- metre wide shoulders for pedestrians, including building of six new bridges between Nebbi and Arua. The Nebbi-Arua road agreement was signed by Muganzi and Zeev Sharon of Solel Boneh International, an Israeli contractor. Works minister John Nasasira, officiating at the ceremonies, castigated government opponents for basing their campaign on the tarmacking of the Karuma-Pakwach-Arua road. "The Government has been planning for these roads since 1996. We are not doing it because of elections," Nasasira said. Nasasira urged the people of Arua to ignore government detractors. Ends