Government seeks loan to upgrade Greater Kampala roads

The loan request was presented by the State Minister for Trade, David Bahati, during the parliamentary plenary sitting on Wednesday, May 24, 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 such as flooding, traffic congestion, un-signalised 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's productivity and liveability for sustainable social and economic development.

Among the transit corridors to be undertaken are the Kampala-Jinja Motorway and Kampala-Southern by-pass, the Kampala-Bombo Motorway, the Nakasero-Kampala Northern by-pass, the 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 mobilisation 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, the planting of trees and drainage channels, and the 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.