Signing Ceremony for the “Ngoma-Ramiro Road Upgrading Project” (March 22, 2018)
2018/3/24
On March 22, H.E. Mr. Takayuki Miyashita, Ambassador of Japan to Rwanda, and Honorable Gatete, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, signed the Exchange of Notes of a loan project dubbed “Ngoma-Ramiro Road Upgrading Project” amounting up to 7.670 billion yen (approximately USD 68 million). This project aims to pave and widen the unpaved road between Ngoma and Ramiro in the Eastern Province, contributing to increase the carriage capacity and to facilitate the movements of goods and persons in Rwanda and beyond.
Honorable Gatete said: “this project is part of the Ngoma-Nyanza Road Upgrading Project, which is also partly financed by the World Bank. It is also of great importance for the increase in interregional trade from Dar es Salaam through Rwanda, Burundi to Democratic Republic of the Congo. Moreover, this road will be connected to the Bugesera International Airport, which is under construction. It will therefore contribute to increase transport volume in the Eastern and Southern Provinces as well as to promote economic integration in the East African Region. I sincerely extend my gratitude to Japan for its support for the transport infrastructure projects which are crucial to Rwanda’s development.”
Ambassador Miyashita said: “I am delighted to sign this loan project today. It is the second yen loan project for me since I have signed the first one dubbed “Rusumo-Kayonza Road Improvement Project” shortly after my arrival in Rwanda. The Ngoma-Ramiro Road Upgrading Project will facilitate traffic of goods and persons in the crucial route connecting the East African countries. The signing ceremony found the best timing because 44 countries just signed the agreement on African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) at the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union in Kigali yesterday. The road project we signed today gives a strong impetus to regional integration the AfCFTA aims at. It will benefit not only Rwanda and East Africa, but also Africa as a whole. I expect that the construction work will be completed as soon as possible.”
Ambassador Miyashita said: “I am delighted to sign this loan project today. It is the second yen loan project for me since I have signed the first one dubbed “Rusumo-Kayonza Road Improvement Project” shortly after my arrival in Rwanda. The Ngoma-Ramiro Road Upgrading Project will facilitate traffic of goods and persons in the crucial route connecting the East African countries. The signing ceremony found the best timing because 44 countries just signed the agreement on African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) at the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union in Kigali yesterday. The road project we signed today gives a strong impetus to regional integration the AfCFTA aims at. It will benefit not only Rwanda and East Africa, but also Africa as a whole. I expect that the construction work will be completed as soon as possible.”
In the field of transport infrastructure, Japan has been greatly contributing to the economic infrastructure development through the implementation of a variety of projects such as the the Rusumo One Stop Border Post and the International Bridge Project and the Rusumo-Kayonza Road Improvement Project.