STORY: Chinese firm to upgrade key road in Uganda's mountainous Eastern Region
SHOOTING TIME: June 5, 2024
DATELINE: June 7, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:03
LOCATION: SIRONKO, Uganda
CATEGORY: ECONOMY/SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. aerial view of the groundbreaking ceremony
2. various of the groundbreaking ceremony
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ROBINAH NABBANJA, Ugandan Prime Minister
4. various of the local community
5. various of the road to be paved
6. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): SAMUEL MUHOOZI, Director of roads and bridges development at the Uganda National Roads Authority
7. aerial view of the groundbreaking ceremony
8. various of Chinese engineers inspecting a bridge
9. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): JIANG CHUANLIANG, Project manager of Shandong Luqiao Group Co., Ltd
10. various of Sambowa Patrick in his coffee garden
11. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): PATRICK SAMBOWA, Local coffee farmer
12. various of the Budadiri town in Sironko, Uganda

STORYLINE:

Ugandan Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has launched the upgrade of a 39-km road in Sironko District of the mountainous Eastern Region, together with the Chinese construction firm Shandong Luqiao Group Co., Ltd.

At Wednesday's ceremony, Nabbanja, in a symbolic move, drove a grader in front of a cheering crowd and urged the community to ensure the safety of construction equipment so that work can continue uninterrupted.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ROBINAH NABBANJA, Ugandan Prime Minister
"Ni Hao (Hello). Xie Xie (Thanks). I take the honor to officially launch the construction of the Namagumba-Budadiri-Nalugugu Road, including the ring to the Mount Elgon National Park."
   
Funded by the African Development Bank, the main project is to upgrade the Namagumba-Budadiri-Nalugugu Road from gravel to asphalt.

Samuel Muhoozi, director of roads and bridges development at the Uganda National Roads Authority, said when the construction of the road is completed, it will help local farmers gain faster access to markets.

He said the government has hope in the Chinese firm, noting that due diligence has been done and that Chinese road construction works in Uganda have passed the test.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): SAMUEL MUHOOZI, Director of roads and bridges development at the Uganda National Roads Authority
"This road, as you can see, the terrain in the area is mountainous, with valleys and everything. And therefore, the biggest challenge naturally must be transportation. And therefore, this road has come in timely. You can see the connection of this terrain, you know when you have a terrain like this one, it is over-populated and many people live in the hills and a few in the lowlands, so connectivity becomes a problem."   
   
Jiang Chuanliang, project manager of Shandong Luqiao Group Co., Ltd, told Xinhua that the construction will take three years, and more than 600 local people will be employed during the process.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): JIANG CHUANLIANG, Project manager of Shandong Luqiao Group Co., Ltd
"The road is 39 kilometers long with four bridges, 14 box culverts, and 120 pipe culverts. The main work is to upgrade the current gravel road to an asphalt concrete road. The road is designed according to Uganda's national secondary road standards. The entire project duration is three years, and we anticipate that the workforce could reach up to 600 employees at peak times."

When the road is completed, the travel time on it will be reduced from the original one hour to 20 minutes, said the manager.
   
The district is known for its well-known Arabica coffee, bananas, Irish potatoes, and fresh milk, which are sought after by traders from the national capital of Kampala and across the border in Kenya.

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): PATRICK SAMBOWA, Local coffee farmer
"The construction of the road is really timely. It's what we have been crying for, yearning for, for years. I went to school when they were talking of the construction of that road, Namugumba-Budadiri-Nalugugu Road, but now it has become a reality."
  
The road is also expected to boost community service and tourism by improving access to Mount Elgon National Park and Sipi Falls. Mount Elgon, which is shared with neighboring Kenya, is a popular destination among mountain climbers.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Sironko, Uganda.
(XHTV)