{Rwanda and Tanzania have launched a new One Stop Border Post to shorten clearing time and ease the movement of goods and people at the shared Rusumo border. }
Officiating the event, Minister of Infrastructure James Musoni said the border post will eliminate traffic congestion, improve efficiency in cargo transportation, cut costs and facilitate the faster movements of goods.
Minister Musoni stressed that Rwanda and Tanzania will benefit significantly from the project.
“The border post is important since it is capable of simultaneously handling departure and entry procedures and will help to eliminate the delays presented by border processes,” he said.
The facility consists of a newly constructed 80-meter long and 13.5-meter wide bridge, verification storage, control shed, parking yard, office buildings and other buildings. The bridge – which supports 180 tons – replaces one built in 1972 which could only handle 35 tons. The latter had weakened over the years.
The Government of Japan, through its International Cooperation Agency (JICA), financed the project to the tune of 22 billion Rwf as support to both Rwanda and Tanzania.
Present at the launch were JICA President, Dr Akihiko Tanaka, the Commissioner of Akagera region in Tanzania, Mr John Mongella, and other stakeholders. Minister Musoni commended the excellent bilateral ties that exist between Rwanda and Japan.
Rusumo Border Post is located on the Rwanda – Tanzania border and is a key economic corridor on the continent. The upgraded post will contribute to easing intra-regional trade and accelerate economic integration in the East African region.
The post is located at an important economic corridor, known as the Central Corridor, in the geographical zone of the East African Community (EAC), along with the Northern Corridor which links Kenya and Uganda. The Central Corridor starts at Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, providing a crucial physical distribution to Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi. The corridor functions as an essential physical distribution pipeline for landlocked countries in the region.
Source: [Government->http://www.gov.rw/news_detail/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1034&cHash=dcc847d896c9a292563bd1c9ecf51019]
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