Gov’t seeks fat loan to upgrade Greater Kampala roads

The Committees of National Economy and Presidential Affairs will scrutinize a government proposal to borrow up to $608.66 million from the World Bank and Agence Francaise de Development (ADB) to finance the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area Urban Development Programme.

The loan request was presented by the State Minister for Trade, David Bahati, during the plenary sitting on Wednesday, 24 May 2023.

The fund will be implemented to improve road infrastructure within Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono and Mpigi, including the municipalities of Entebbe, Kira, Makindye-Ssabagabo, Nansana and Mukono.

The programme will address challenges of flooding, traffic congestion, un-signalized junctions and poor road infrastructure among others.

The programme also seeks to upgrade strategic interconnecting roads (611 kilometres), junctions, drainage channels, markets and workspaces in order to improve the Greater Kampala Metropolitan area productivity and liveability for sustainable social economic development.

Among the transit corridors to be undertaken are Kampala-Jinja Expressway and Kampala-Southern by-pass, Kampala-Bombo Expressway, Nakasero-Kampala Northern by-pass, Kampala outer-belt ring road and Kampala fly-over Phase II.

According to a brief presented by Bahati on the loan request, the planned upgrading of the roads will be part of the domestic revenue mobilization strategy aimed at marketing and promoting the use of rental properties that are outside the central business district.

“The programme will also contribute to addressing environmental degradation and flooding in this region through the construction of climate and disaster resilient infrastructure, planting of trees and construction of drainage channels, and greening of some of the areas along the road reserves,” he added.

The loan request is in line with Article 159 of the Constitution which stipulates the power of the government to borrow or lend.