By the side of Lake Albert on the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo sits a small fishing village - Kiambasambu - which is surrounded by mountains on the other three sides. In the past days, all villagers including pregnant women, children and patients had to walk the long and bumpy mountain roads to get out of the village.
Things started to change with the development of the Lake Albert (Kingfisher) Oil Development Project. The Kingfisher Oil Field sitting around the village is invested and operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). Adhering to the wish of "Oil for better life", CNOOC's subsidiary in Uganda decided to fund and build a road to better local living conditions. The 10-kilometer cross-cliff road, the first in the area, cost more than $20 million and completely changed local people's way of traveling. They no longer had to climb the three-kilometer mountainous path with a drop height of 400 meters.
A bird's-eye view of the cross-cliff road funded and built by China National Offshore Oil Corporation [Photo provided to sasac.gov.cn]
Building roads creates prosperity for all sectors. The 10-kilometer road not only benefits Kiambasambu but also dozens of villages in affected areas. It promotes exchange and circulation of people and currency, shortens travel time for medical health, working and schooling, lowers villagers' living costs and improves their standard of living. People living along the road cheerfully sang and danced at the road's launch ceremony, appreciating the efforts CNOOC made to build it.
Mwereza Biamumaka, a local farmer, said that the operation of the road greatly reduces traffic and transportation costs. Without it, he could barely gain any profit. Kahwa Jonathan, head of Kiambasambu, said that "For local villagers, the road is a road of hope that connects to the outside world. It makes our community realize opening-up. Inconvenient traffic is no longer a reason for an absence of teachers at the Buhuka Primary School or doctors at the clinics. Children and pregnant women are able to get to other regions for better treatment and the death rate of newborns and expectant mothers has gone down."
The cross-cliff road enables local villagers to get out of the village. [Photo provided to sasac.gov.cn]
The cross-cliff road benefits local fishing villages. In recent years, local people have built new houses and purchased motorbikes. The number of convenient stores and restaurants has risen and goods at the market are more varied. The market also welcomes more and more people for trading and purchasing.
The cross-cliff road is now the preferred path for local villagers to take to other regions. In response to the sharp bends of the mountain road and the broken stones often falling from the mountains, CNOOC invested $500,000 to add protective screenings, speed bumps and security check points. The company also organized security lectures every month in local communities to raise local people's awareness of security.
Together with the glistening Lake Albert, local villagers witness CNOOC's efforts to improve their livelihoods and the turning of Uganda's natural moat into a thoroughfare. The project has closed the history of the village’s isolation due to lack of basic transport.
(Executive editor: Li Zhiyong)
