Dungu, 2 June 2011 – A 147-kilometer road between the northern towns of Dungu and Faradje in Province Orientale, was inaugurated on 2 June 2011, after 13 months of intense rehabilitation work by Indonesian military engineers of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). The Dungu-Faradje road is located in the district of Haut-Uele, which borders South Sudan and Uganda.

Prior to the rehabilitation of this road, it sometimes took eight days to travel between these two towns. Today, the same distance can be covered in just two hours. The benefits of this newly-built road for the local population are many.

The Territorial Administrator of Dungu, Mr. Venant Nkosi Palamu, reckoned a significant drop in the prices of commodities and heavy construction material arriving from neighboring countries as a sign that his constituency is opening up to the rest of the world.

Humanitarian actors operating in the region also expressed their satisfaction at the rehabilitation saying they will benefit from this road as they will henceforth be able to deliver aid to displaced populations within a very short time.

For MONUSCO's Force Commander, Lieutenant-General Chander Prakash, this road would help improve security conditions, and boost up economic activity in the region. "Rehabilitating the road is only the first step; we will continue together with the Congolese National Armed Forces (FARDC) to see to it that this road is safe and secure, so as to allow the population to peacefully go about their business," General Prakash told officials present at the inauguration ceremony.

MONUSCO deployed a significant amount of its forces in this region, which is prone to frequent attacks from both the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and other armed groups.

Leocadio Salmeron/MONUSCO

Before	After