UGANDA. Kampala: The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Government of Uganda has signed a $229.5 million financing agreement for the first phase of the Kampala-Jinja Expressway Project.
The financing agreement which was signed on March 16 will aid the project which will cut travel time and boost trade along an important artery linking Uganda with its neighbors.
The Kampala-Jinja Expressway Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Project-Phase I would improve travel flow, according to Matia Kasaija, Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
He said, “the project would reduce travel time from more than three hours to under one hour. It would be between Jinja and Kampala along the northern corridor linking Uganda to neighbors Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Kenya.”
Kasaija, who signed the accord on behalf of the government, noted that the African Development Bank was the second-largest multilateral donor to Uganda.
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He said that the bank contributes 20 percent of the country’s development assistance in the areas of roads, energy, agriculture, education, health and sanitation.
He said the Kampala-Jinja road was a major gateway for all imports and exports into and out of Uganda and its successful implementation would spur trade volumes and economic growth in Uganda and among its neighbors.
The Bank’s Country Manager for Uganda, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, who signed on behalf of the Bank, said the agreement demonstrates the Bank’s commitment to supporting Uganda’s development and enhancing the well-being of its people.
“The Public-Private Partnership model will bring in private sector participation and financing of a key infrastructure in Uganda and will yield a significant economic return for the country with an estimated net revenue of $2.1 billion over the 30-year concession period,” Ngafuan said.
The KJE project would further boost local industries, with the agreement stipulating that at least 30 percent of subcontracting in the project would be awarded to local companies under the Buy Uganda Build Uganda (BUBU) policy.
The project would create at least 1,500 direct jobs during the construction phase and 250 jobs during the operational phase, Ngafuan said.
The financing of the Kampala-Jinja Expressway Project is part of the Bank’s commitment to improving the quality of life of the people of Africa through regional integration and is in line with its ten-Year Strategy (2013-2022) for Africa.
Components of the Project
The project comprises the Kampala-Jinja Mainline Expressway and the Kampala Southern Urban Bypass (KSB).
The works will be implemented in two sections: Section one is an urban expressway including KSB (18km) and 35km of the main expressway from Kampala to Namagunga.
Section two is a rural motorway covering 42km from Namagunga to Jinja.
The proposed concession period is 30 years, including an eight-year construction period.
The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) is the executing agency and has already commenced the procurement of a private concessionaire on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) basis under the Availability Payment PPP model.
Also present at the signing ceremony were Ms. Allen Kagina, the Executive Director of the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) and Mr. Peter Lokeris, Minister for State Works and Transport.
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