Museveni directs Works Ministry not to borrow funds for Kampala- Jinja Expressway construction

President Museveni has ordered the Ministry of Works to drop the idea of borrowing money to finance the construction of the Kampala- Jinja Expressway.

Uganda National Roads Authority recently completed the public opening of bid qualifications submitted by a group of eight companies or consortia that had expressed interest in the construction of the 95km road that is to be developed through a public-private partnership (PPP).

The road is expected to cost $1b or an equivalent of Shs3.4 trillion however the finances are yet to be got by government.

However, in a September 18 letter to the Works Minister, Eng.Monica Ntege Azuba, Museveni says he earlier ruled out external borrowing except for financing the railway, electricity, capitalizing Uganda Development Bank, construction of oil roads and tourism roads among a few other projects, adding that he will not allow borrowing whether internally or externally for the construction of the Kampala- Jinja Expressway.

“Accordingly, I reject the idea of borrowing for the Kampala- Jinja Expressway,”Museveni says in the letter.

He explains that there is a Chine company identified as China Railway  17th Bureau Group that he says is ready to fund the project and recover their money later through road tolls.

“Why then should we borrow for this road? Moreover, the roads are not the major cost reducers compared to the railway or electricity. Therefore I invite that company to make their presentations and proposals.”

Four consortia recently expressed interest in the construction of the 95 km road and these included China Communications Construction Company and China First Highway Engineering Company; KJ Connect (with Vinci Concessions as the lead member); Strabag/ICITAS/EGIS/AIIM/STOA ; Enkula Expressway Consortium, China Wu Yi Co. Ltd, Korea Expressway Corporation and SK Engineering and Construction.

The development will however veer off its course.

Last week, Members of Parliament rejected the plan by government to fund the construction of Kampala -Jinja expressway through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

The road was planned to be constructed using funding from a loan from the African Development Bank (ADB) and is located along Uganda’s Northern Corridor, a strategic route within the region linking Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan with Kenya’s Mombasa maritime port.