diff --git a/.devcontainer/cuda11.8-pip/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/cuda11.8-pip/devcontainer.json
index ff8d4f0fb..94212b758 100644
--- a/.devcontainer/cuda11.8-pip/devcontainer.json
+++ b/.devcontainer/cuda11.8-pip/devcontainer.json
@@ -10,10 +10,12 @@
   },
   "hostRequirements": {"gpu": "optional"},
   "features": {
+    "./features/src/ucx": {"version": "1.14.1"},
     "./features/src/cuda": {"installcuDNN": true},
     "./features/src/rapids-build-utils": {}
   },
   "overrideFeatureInstallOrder": [
+    "./features/src/ucx",
     "./features/src/cuda",
     "./features/src/rapids-build-utils"
   ],
diff --git a/.devcontainer/cuda12.0-pip/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/cuda12.0-pip/devcontainer.json
index db0763b9f..186498d18 100644
--- a/.devcontainer/cuda12.0-pip/devcontainer.json
+++ b/.devcontainer/cuda12.0-pip/devcontainer.json
@@ -10,10 +10,12 @@
   },
   "hostRequirements": {"gpu": "optional"},
   "features": {
+    "./features/src/ucx": {"version": "1.14.1"},
     "./features/src/cuda": {"installcuDNN": true},
     "./features/src/rapids-build-utils": {}
   },
   "overrideFeatureInstallOrder": [
+    "./features/src/ucx",
     "./features/src/cuda",
     "./features/src/rapids-build-utils"
   ],
diff --git a/.devcontainer/rapids.Dockerfile b/.devcontainer/rapids.Dockerfile
index 9d35e3f97..2400d6aa9 100644
--- a/.devcontainer/rapids.Dockerfile
+++ b/.devcontainer/rapids.Dockerfile
@@ -5,6 +5,14 @@ ARG PYTHON_PACKAGE_MANAGER=conda
 
 FROM ${BASE} as pip-base
 
+RUN apt update -y \
+ && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt install -y --no-install-recommends \
+    # needed by libcudf_kafka
+    librdkafka-dev \
+    # needed by libcuspatial
+    sqlite3 libsqlite3-dev libtiff-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev \
+ && rm -rf /tmp/* /var/tmp/* /var/cache/apt/* /var/lib/apt/lists/*;
+
 ENV DEFAULT_VIRTUAL_ENV=rapids
 
 FROM ${BASE} as conda-base