Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, has explained that works on the Kampala-Jinja expressway have stalled due to the lengthy process of acquiring land and compensating the project-affected persons.
The expressway, a strategic corridor serving as a trade link to the sea for Uganda, was scheduled to commence in 2015 as per earlier communication from the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA).
The project, designed based on a Public–Private–Partnership (PPP) model, was envisaged to be executed in two phases. Phase one, including the construction from Munyonyo to Butabika to Mukono, was meant to be completed by 2023. Phase two, from Mukono through Dangala to Jinja, was to be completed by 2030.
The total cost for the 95km project was estimated to be about US $1.4 billion (Shs5.2 trillion).
According to UNRA, funding secured for this project so far is about $335 million. This amount includes the AfDB loan of $229.5 million and $106 million extended to Uganda as a grant by the European Union for the project. Besides this amount, it was reported by UNRA that an additional $90 million loan from the French Development Agency was secured.
During parliament sitting on Tuesday, Speaker Anita Among renewed a call to the Minister of Works and Transport to fast-track the commencement of works on the Kampala-Jinja expressway.
“The loan was approved, and since 2020 nothing has taken place. We were told that the issue is with project-affected persons,” she said.
In response, Katumba Wamala said, “We are now at the stage of contracting. There are several steps which we have to undertake; this is not a simple project. It is a Public Private Partnership, and there are so many stages that we have to qualify before it comes to maturity.”
He added, “We have to pay more than 90 per cent of the project-affected persons; we have to resettle people who even by law are not allowed to be resettled. The elderly who are not allowed to take the money, we have to prepare for them to have a better life; that takes time.”
Katumba Wamala said that the Attorney General has acquired the partial risk agreement, which is the last stage of procuring a contractor.
“That means that now we can put out the project for contracting because most of the hurdles have been overcome. We are now in the process of advertising; we could not advertise without clearing the hurdles. You must advertise when you have enough land to give to the contractor,” he said.
