Gulu–Nimule Road is a road in the Northern Region of

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, connecting the city of

Gulu Gulu is a city in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the commercial and administrative centre of Gulu District. The coordinates of the city of Gulu are 2°46'54.0"N 32°17'57.0"E. The city's distance from Kampala, Uganda's capital and large ...

Gulu District Gulu is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Northern Region, Uganda, Northern Region of Uganda. The regional headquarters are located in the city of Gulu, which is also the administrative capital of Northern Region, Uganda, Northern Uganda. ...

and the town of

Nimule Nimule is a city in the southern part of South Sudan in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria. It lies approximately , by road, southeast of Juba, the capital of South Sudan and largest city in the country. The town also lies approximately , by road, n ...

in Eastern Equatoria State in

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

, just north of the international border between the two countries. The road, known as Highway A104 in Uganda, continues into South Sudan as Highway A43.

Location

The Gulu–Nimule Road starts at

and continues north, through

Pabbo Pabbo, sometimes spelled as Pabo, is a municipality in Amuru District of the Northern Region of Uganda. Location Pabbo is on the Gulu-Nimule Road, the main highway (A-104) between Gulu and the border with Southern Sudan at Nimule. Pabbo is appr ...

Atiak Atiak is a town in the Northern Region of Uganda on the Gulu-Nimule Road, the primary trade route between Uganda and South Sudan. Location Atiak is in Kilak County the Amuru District. It is approximately , by road, north of Gulu, the largest cit ...

, Bibia and

Elegu Elegu is a town in the Northern Region of Uganda. It sits across the international border from the town of Nimule, South Sudan. Location The town is in Amuru District, Acholi sub-region, at the international border with South Sudan, approximate ...

, before ending in

at the border between Uganda and South Sudan, a distance of approximately . The coordinates of the road near

Amuru District Amuru District is a Districts of Uganda, district in Northern Region, Uganda, Northern Uganda. Like most Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Amuru, Uganda, Amuru, where the district headquarters are located. Location Amuru Dis ...

are 3°17'02.0"N, 32°07'04.0"E (Longitude:3.283889; Latitude:32.117778).

Overview

Before 2009, the Gulu–Nimule Road was a gravel-surfaced, two-lane road. It is a major route of transportation between Uganda and South Sudan. During the rainy season, the road became impassable, as was the case in 2008 when rains closed it for a week. In March 2009, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

agreed to fund the engineering design of the improved road to an all-weather tarmac surface. Vice Consulting Engineers, a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n firm, was awarded the contract to design the road at a cost of US$800,000. The

government of Japan The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive (government), executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary st ...

, through the

Japan International Cooperation Agency The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...

(JICA), and the

provided the loans to fund the construction, expected to cost US$102 million.

Construct timeline

After several delays, the contract for the

–

section, measuring , was awarded to China Henan International Corporation, a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

construction Group that had successfully completed civil engineering projects in various

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n countries, including

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. The costs for this section of the road was met by the

Government of Uganda The politics of Uganda occurs in an Authoritarianism, authoritarian context. Since assuming office in 1986 at the end of the Ugandan Bush War, Ugandan civil war, Yoweri Museveni has ruled Uganda as an Autocracy, autocrat. Political party, Politi ...

and the

. Construction began in May 2012 and was expected to last two years. The remaining section of the road, between

and

, measuring , was funded by the

Government of Japan The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive (government), executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary st ...

. That contract was awarded to China Railway Wuju Group Corporation, a division of

China Railway Engineering Corporation The China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) is a state-owned holding company of China, which is under the supervision of the State Council. The company is the major shareholder of China Railway Group Limited (CRGL), its subsidiary. CREC i ...

. Construction of that section was commissioned in August 2013. Completion was expected in May 2016. On 21 July 2015,

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...

, the president of Uganda, officially commissioned the completed road.

Points of interest

The following landmarks lie close or near the Gulu–Nimule Road: (1) city of Gulu in Gulu District, the largest city in

Northern Uganda The Northern Region is one of four regions in Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts As of 2010, the Northern Region had 30 districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some co ...

, (2) the town of Pabbo, in Amuru District, approximately , north of Gulu. (3) the town of Atiak, in Amuru District, approximately , north of Gulu. (4) the town of Bibia, in Amuru District, approximately , north of Gulu. (5) the town of

, in Amuru District. This is the last town in Uganda, before the road reaches the International border between Uganda and South Sudan at Nimule. (6) the town of Nimule, in Equatoria Province, South Sudan, approximately , north of Gulu.

References

External links