Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has begun assessing Kiira Motors Corporation’s capacity to support the city’s planned mass transit system as the local manufacturer prepares to roll out at least 100 electric buses in the capital by the end of the year.
A delegation of KCCA engineers, mechanics, traffic officers and road safety experts visited the Kiira Motors manufacturing plant on Friday to evaluate production capabilities and explore requirements for sustaining a larger public transport network, including the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.
The visit comes as eight electric buses are already in operation in Kampala under the first phase of Kiira Motors’ rollout programme aimed at reducing congestion and improving urban mobility.
The KCCA team, led by Engineer Jacob Byamukama, inspected key stages of production at the company’s 100-acre facility, including chassis fabrication, body assembly, painting, quality assurance and road testing.
Byamukama said the assessment was intended to guide future collaboration between the city and the manufacturer.
“We wanted to see how buses are made, how long they take and how we are going to work together to support e-buses in Kampala,” he said.
The delegation also examined Kiira Motors’ capacity to produce 18-metre buses designed for the city’s planned Bus Rapid Transit system, which is central to efforts to modernise Kampala’s transport infrastructure.
Eng Richard Madanda, head of production at Kiira Motors, said the company is capable of producing larger buses and training technical personnel to support their operation and maintenance.
“We can have the mechanics trained, and we also believe in data. We have the capacity to do 18-metre buses,” Madanda said.
Discussions also focused on training programmes for KCCA mechanics and technicians, as well as the development of supporting infrastructure such as bus depots and maintenance facilities.
Kiira Motors Corporation continues to produce both electric and diesel buses as it scales up operations to meet growing demand for urban transport solutions.
Kampala, which hosts more than four million people during daytime, continues to grapple with severe traffic congestion, with authorities increasingly turning to mass transit systems to improve mobility and reduce travel times.
