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$245 million to finance Uganda-Rwanda transport project

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The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $ 245 million in loans and grants to the Governments of Uganda and Rwanda to finance a transport project.

The project will boost regional trade and decongest traffic from Kampala (Busega) city to Mpigi. Uganda and Rwanda are landlocked countries and transport infrastructure is a key factor to stimulate socio-economic activities and improve competitiveness.

Uganda

In Uganda, $ 151 million will finance the construction of a 23.7 km expressway, which will facilitate the journey between Kampala and Mpigi on the Northern Corridor, a major trade route in the region.

The existing Busega-Mpigi road is highly congested especially at Busega, handling over 26 000 vehicles per day on a two-lane road. Average vehicle travel time from Busega to Mpigi will be reduced from one hour to 20 minutes on the completion of the project.

Rwanda

In Rwanda, $ 94 million will finance the rehabilitation of a 208 km road (Kagitumba-Kayonza-Rusumo) in eastern Rwanda.

Upon completion of the two-and-a-half year project, the average vehicle travel time on the Kagitumba-Kayonza-Rusumo road will be reduced by 50%, from six to three hours.

Both these roads are vital links, which support the regional integration objectives of the East Africa Community (EAC) and the Great Lakes Region, contributing to poverty reduction and regional integration across Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

Benefitting the community

The direct beneficiaries of the project are traders and transporters who use the Northern Corridor via Mirama Hills/Kagitumba and the Central Corridor, via Rusumo and the 2.14 million people living within the Busega-Mpigi and Kagitumba-Kayonza-Rusumo areas.

“The project will contribute to poverty reduction, improve the quality of life of people in the area by providing socio-economic facilities. It will also contributes to agriculture development and food security; and facilitates industrialization through reduced transportation and logistics costs,” said Amadou Oumarou, Director of the AfDB’s Transport & ICT Department.

The total project cost is estimated at $ 376.5 million, co-financed by AfDB ($ 244.6 million), Japan International Cooperation Agency ($ 56.3 million), European Union ($ 22.4 million) and the governments of Uganda and Rwanda ($ 53.2million).

21/10/2016
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Uganda National Roads Authority 2016/2017

By Infrastructure projects

In the 2016/17 budget, the government allocated more than Shs. 3 827.54 billion to the works and transport sector in order to improve the condition of transport infrastructure nationwide.

Government intends to accelerate the construction and completion of on-going road projects and maintenance of the national, district, urban and community access road networks and numerous bridges across the country.

The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), the government entity charged with the construction and maintenance of roads, has also undergone a total overhaul of its management in a bid to fight corruption, waste and inefficiency in the construction of roads.

21/10/2016
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Uganda picks Nigerian, Australian firms for oil licensing round

By Oil and Gas projects

KAMPALA Aug 1 (Reuters) – Uganda has picked three Nigerian companies and one from Australia for its oil exploration licensing round, inviting them to negotiate for production sharing agreements, it said on Monday.

It announced its first competitive bidding round for six exploration blocks, covering a total of 3,000 square kilometres (1,150 square miles), in February 2015.

Bidding documents were issued to 16 oil firms but only seven submitted bids.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development said it selected Nigerian firms WalterSmithPetroman Oil Limited, Oranto Petroleum International, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources and Australia’s Armour Energy Limited.

The four companies will negotiate for five production sharing agreements (PSAs) covering four blocks.

“Negotiations for these PSAs is the final milestone before granting exploration rights,” the ministry said in a statement. Issues for negotiation would include exploration work programmes and how the financial proceeds will be shared.

Crude oil reserves estimated by government geologists at 3.5 billion barrels were discovered in the Albertine rift basin along Uganda’s border with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2006 but production has repeatedly been pushed back.

Spats over taxation, disagreements over field development strategies and delays in erecting infrastructure such as the export pipeline agreed with Tanzania in April have all been blamed.

The jointly developed pipeline will carry Ugandan crude oil to Tanzania’s Indian Ocean port of Tanga for export.

The three oil firms already operating in Uganda – London-listed Tullow Oil, France’s Total and China’s CNOOC – did not participate in this bidding round. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

28/09/2016
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