KAMPALA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Uganda on Monday closed a key bridge on an international highway connecting the northern part of the country with South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Allan Ssempebwa, a communication officer at the Ministry of Works and Transport, told Xinhua by phone that the Karuma Bridge, located in the midwestern region, will be closed for two to three weeks for major maintenance to allow heavy vehicles to use the facility.

"Thereafter, the bridge will be opened to all kinds of traffic, including heavy trucks and trailers, which have not been using it," Ssempebwa said.

He added that the rehabilitation work will be carried out as a joint venture between the Chinese construction firm China Railway Seventh Group and the Ugandan military.

Motorists traveling to northern Uganda, eastern DRC, and South Sudan have been directed to use alternative routes, while diverted vehicles will rely on ferries and other routes through a national park to reach their destinations.

Karuma Bridge, built in the 1960s, was previously closed last September for major rehabilitation and reopened in December only for light vehicles. Enditem

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