Museveni announces plan to set-up Kidepo International Airport
President Museveni also touched on social infrastructure, including schools and health facilities, noting that Moroto District has 16 government primary schools and three secondary schools, with plans to establish a government primary school per parish and a secondary school per sub-county.
President Yoweri Museveni, also the National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential flag bearer, Monday unveiled ambitious development plans for Karamoja, including the construction of an international airport in Kidepo, comparable in scale to Entebbe.
The announcement came during his public campaign rally held at Naitakwae Boma Grounds in Moroto District, where he highlighted the strides made in peace, infrastructure, and social services across the region.
“We are going to build an international airport in Kidepo as big as Entebbe,” President Museveni said.
“It is going to be built by private investors who will also construct hotels there. Why? Because our wild animals are like sports, people come to the stadium to watch football, to enjoy and relax, and they pay. That is what will happen in Kidepo. Rich people will come from all over the world with money to relax. This is part of economic infrastructure,” he said.
The President reflected on the region’s journey from hardship to progress.
“First of all, when I used to come to Karamoja, I would speak to small gatherings of 10 people. That was because the population was small. In 1980, Karamoja had 190,000 people. Today, it is more than 1.5 million. This growth is because of peace, health, and immunization. I can see all these young NRM supporters, they are alive because immunization has prevented diseases like measles,” he said.
President Museveni credited peace in the region to the NRM’s politics of unity, which avoided sectarianism.
“NRM was able to bring peace because of our politics of unity. That has helped us not only to build the national political party but also to develop the region,” he added.
The President outlined significant infrastructure milestones in Moroto.
“Electricity now stretches from Soroti to Karenga, roads are being upgraded and tarmacked, including the Moroto-Kaabong road, and piped water coverage is increasing across villages,” he highlighted.
“I was informed that the road between Moroto and Kotido is impassable. Even if it’s murram, it should be passable with proper maintenance. I have spoken to the Ministry of Works about this issue.”
On water development, President Museveni said that water is one of the key factors that he identified in Karamoja sub-region, noting that he is happy with the progress and the ongoing and planned projects.
These include; Desilting of Kobebe Earth Dam is ongoing, Nadipal Valley Tank (20 million litres) was completed in Nadunget Sub-county in December 2023, Nakonyen Valley Dam (1.5 billion litres capacity) in Tapac Sub-county is set for completion in November 2025, Lokisile Dam desilting will take place this financial year, and construction of Naberu Dam (1.2 billion litres) is scheduled to start in November 2025 with 11 valley tanks and two wind-powered water systems already operational, while a solar irrigation system is under construction.
“Water is critical for production, and we are expanding access not just for households but for agriculture, livestock in the region,” he said.
