UNRA lines up big road projects in 2019

NAMWANJE SALMAH

This month, President Museveni launched the Kampala Flyover project, whose construction is expected to start January 2019.

The Uganda National Roads Authority however says it has bigger plans of decongesting the City Centre by constructing more flyovers and roads that divert traffic from the central Business District.

One of the projects that are in last stages is The Kampala Jinja Expressway, which forms part of the northern trade corridor from Mombasa-Kenya through Kampala to Kigali Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and other neighbouring countries.

The 77-kilometer Kampala Jinja expressway project is under; it’s going to be wide with eight lanes in Kyambogo, six lanes around Namagunga and then four lanes connecting to the Source of Nile Bridge.

The project is under the Public Private Partnership; it is projected to cost slightly over one billion dollars of which $600 million while be raised by the private partner while the government will contribute $ 400 million which it expects to get from ADB, European Union and French Development Agency.

Procurement is on and bidders have started expressing interest from China, Korea and other countries.

The Kibuye Busega-Mpigi expressway is also about to start, the procurement process is at completion and it’s a huge project aimed at easing traffic congestion in the central business district.

The UNRA also plans to have Kampala Bombo expressway, it is also in the pipeline it still in the initial stages of feasibility study and drawing designs among others.

There is also the Greater Kampala outer Belt; this is a ring road that will see motorists that are heading to areas outside Kampala move freely without mixing in the Kampala Traffic.

It is expected to start from areas of Mukono through Namugongo, Kira, Matuga Wakiso to Buloba then Mpigi Side connecting back to Munyonyo Side.

Trailers destined to other countries have for long congested Kampala putting all the pressure on the same roads that are routinely used by motorists within Kampala.

The expressways are constructed to form a network that will enable quick mobility of vehicles within and around Kampala and surrounding areas

The Uganda National Roads Authority plans to build a cable stayed bridge at Karuma which connects to the northern part of the country to the west.

The arctic design is out already in form of an Adungu, a music instrument that is popular in the northern part of the country.

UNRA and government are looking for funding for it and several funders have expressed interest including the Japanese Government under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) that constructed the source of the Nile Bridge.