• Kenya, Uganda approve feasibility study for 200km cross-border highway
• AfDB-backed project to expand roads, modernize key border posts
• Aims to boost trade, mobility along vital East African corridor
  

The Ugandan and Kenyan governments approved, earlier this week, the feasibility study for the Kisumu-Busia / Kakira-Malaba cross-border highway project, a 200-kilometer strategic route designed to improve transport links between the two countries along the Northern Corridor.

Supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB) through grants from the NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF), the initiative includes several key construction components. In Uganda, plans call for building a new 60-kilometer expressway between Jinja and Busesa under a public-private partnership (PPP), while the Busesa–Malaba and Busitema–Busia sections will be expanded into dual carriageways.

On the Kenyan side, work will include dualizing the Kisumu bypass and upgrading the Kimaeti–Lwakhakha road to regional highway standards. The Busia and Malaba border posts will also be modernized to streamline customs procedures and improve transit efficiency.

The project is part of a broader East African initiative to develop regional road corridors that boost trade, facilitate mobility, and strengthen economic integration. The East African Community (EAC) says the completed highway will “redefine mobility and trade between the two countries, cutting travel time, easing congestion and enhancing the flow of goods and people across one of East Africa’s busiest transport routes within the Trans-African Highway and the EAC Regional Trunk Road Network.”

Henoc Dossa