At the Prince House intersection on the outskirts of Kigali, past freight trucks often have to spend more than half an hour in congested traffic before heading east onto the road leading to the international airport. Now, this 10.3-kilometer passage that has troubled local residents and cross-border transportation companies for many years has finally ushered in a comprehensive upgrade opportunity.

On September 8, 2026, China and Rwanda officially held the launch ceremony of the road upgrade project. The Prince House Masaka road project in Kigali, undertaken by Hunan Road and Bridge, has officially started construction on August 30. This urban artery, which carries the simple expectation of local residents to be less congested for half an hour, is being injected with new construction momentum. In the first half of 2026, the national road freight volume in Rwanda increased by 18.7% year-on-year. The upgrading of the traffic efficiency of the Kigali core channel will directly connect Rwanda to the key node of the East African sea route.

Full dimensional renovation to unleash the potential of channel traffic

The total contract amount for this project is RMB 393 million, with a total construction period of 30 months. The project will upgrade the four car road section near the starting point to an interchange node, and widen the remaining main road section from a two-way two lane road to a two-way four lane road. At the same time, supporting facilities such as bridges, culverts, drainage, lighting, and a complete set of traffic safety facilities will be constructed. This upgraded channel will connect the city center of Kigali with the eastern region, directly linking Bugsela International Airport and the East African cross-border shipping network. It will not only shorten the commuting time for residents and access to public service facilities, but also significantly reduce the congestion and waiting costs of cross-border freight.

Simultaneous landing of technology output and industrial opportunities

Before the project was launched, Hunan Road and Bridge had already offered the first course of "Luban Classroom" for road and bridge construction. About 40 engineering and technical personnel from the Lu side, as well as teachers and students from universities, participated in the training. In the future, a series of practical teaching will be carried out around the construction of roadbeds, pavements, bridges, and underpasses, leaving a long-term and reusable experience in road and bridge construction technology for the local area. Chinese equipment and material enterprises with overseas spare parts supply, on-site debugging, and local after-sales capabilities can connect with subsequent cooperation opportunities through the formal procurement channel of the general contractor, as the project clearly releases procurement needs for construction machinery, bridge and culvert drainage materials, lighting and safety facilities, etc. Keywords: road upgrade projects, infrastructure projects

From the daily traffic of residents queuing for passage on the streets of Kigali to the construction equipment about to enter the project site, this 10.3-kilometer upgraded road is not only another landing project of Sino Lu infrastructure cooperation, but also tightly connects the urban commuting efficiency of inland East African countries with cross-border shipping channels.Editor/Cheng Liting