By Samuel Balagadde
and Lydia Namubiru
A new dawn is soon coming over the transport system in Kampala and the immediate surrounding areas of Mukono and Wakiso districts.
Going by the Transport Master Plan for the area to be released in January 2009, the Government is planning to transform roads in Kampala City and its suburbs into a modern integrated and efficient system starting next year.
According to the Greater Kampala Transport Master Plan, the city will get the first ever long distance dual carriage flyover from Jinja Road by-passing the city centre, crossing over the Mukwano and Port Bell railway lines up to Kibuye (4.7km).
The city will also get rapid bus transport services, light passenger rail network, circumferential roads, walkways and proper land use and drainage. Greater Kampala covers 970km2 with a population of 2.6 million and a growth rate of 4.5%. It includes 171 parishes, 99 in Kampala, 9 in Mukono and 63 in Wakiso districts.
The remedial plan was unveiled at the 4th Joint Transport Sector Review conference at Speke Resort, Munyonyo on October 27.
The commissioner for transport planning, G. O. Wandera, while presenting the National Transport Master Plan, said Kampala’s disorganised, outdated, congested and expensive transport system is going to be upgraded to “become efficient in terms of traffic flow, travel times and safety.â€
The transformation is expected to stretch over 15 years, reaching completion by 2022/23. The feasibility study for introducing the bus system in the greater Kampala Metropolitan, will commence in January 2009 and operations will start in January 2010.
James Grace Itazi, the director for transport, said there are about 450,000 vehicles in Uganda, 50% of these in Kampala. Thus for every 100 people in Kampala, 8.7% have a car.
The 2008 statistics show about 7,600 minibuses in Kampala. In 2007, there were 16,000 bodabodas. Consequently, Kampala is facing major traffic problems, especially congestion, accidents, poor infrastructure and air pollution. Itazi says these problems are compounded by the free entry system, high vehicle ownership, single taxi operator (UTODA), unfixed routes and timetables, centralised terminals in the city centre and low levels of service.
According to Keith Muhakanizi, the deputy secretary to the treasury, the status of transport infrastructure in Uganda remains critical. Only 30% of the national road network is in good condition, he said.
Wandera stressed the urgency of the matter, saying traffic was expected to grow at around 8% per year until 2013. The cabinet is expected to state its position on the plan at the end of January.
According to the plan, the city transport system will be transformed thus:
A dual carriage way will be built to by-pass the city centre from Jinja Road to Kibuye. It will have a fly-over crossing over Mukwano and Port Bell railway lines east of Kampala’s main railway line. This 4 or 6-lane road will be 4.7km and is estimated to cost $50.8m (sh99.1b).
Other dual carriage roads without railway are to be completed at a cost of $300.7m (586.4b). They will include principal radial roads, the Northern bypass, and other circumferential roads totalling up to 122.9km. They will provide separate pedestrian and non motorized vehicle pavements.
The existing single carriage ways will be upgraded and properly engineered. In future, all of them will have a minimum of two motor vehicle lanes, adequate shoulders and proper drainage. They will have separate bays for public transport, pedestrians and a total length of 572.9Km. They will cost 473.37m (sh923.1b)
Other investments will include 62 junction improvements, 27 railway crossings and a 1,053km walkway network at a total cost of $124.51m (sh242.8b). 600km of gravel roads will be sealed and 60km resealed each year and 240km of roads maintained each year.
By July 1, nine junctions will have traffic lights to be reinstalled at a cost of $10m (sh19.5b). These are at Nakawa-Spear Motors, Social Security House, Mini Price building, Equatorial Hotel, Nakulabye and Mukwano-Access Road. The Port Bell and Spring roads junction at Bugolobi will get traffic lights next year at a cost of $1m (sh1.95b).
The idea of buses for public transport is being floated again. The plan aims at enabling 5,000 large buses to operate within the city by 2018. This will be a private sector venture with Government providing an enabling environment to attract private investment into the venture.
By 2011, with funding from World Bank, taxis will be given route schedules and stopping areas while bodabodas will be re-designated to ease congestion.
The Assistant Commissioner for Safety and Inspection in the Works Ministry, Eng Denis Sabiiti, said KCC’s lack of a specific traffic and road safety policy further compounds Kampala’s traffic problems. This has hindered efforts to enhance traffic management and road safety. “For example, KCC got a World Bank loan facility in 2004 for road safety campaign but were unable to do much because it is not their mandate,†he said
Wandera said the overall goal for the Greater Kampala Master Plan is to “ensure the transport sector is serviced by the right organisations which make the right decisions that are timely and responsive to emerging internal and external development opportunities and challenges.â€
The conference agreed that management of public transport has been relegated to the private sector for too long, leading to chaos.
There is urgent need for Government intervention. It is expected that the Transport Master Plan will go a long away in solving Uganda’s transport problems, support multi-sectoral development and improve economic growth and development.