By Raymond Baguma
A new sh700 billion eight-lane express highway is planned from Kampala to Jinja to handle the rising traffic and improve the state of the national road network, the Uganda National Roads Authority has revealed.
The new expressway will operate as a toll road, meaning that it will attract a nominal fee in order for motorists to use it and enable the investor recover the costs.
Daniel Alinange, the UNRA corporate communications manager said there is an increasing demand for social infrastructure such as electricity and roads.
Alinange said, “If all goes well, we are hopeful that next year we may get a partner to help us construct it.”
According to the road design details of the proposed express highway, the new 8-lane road is planned to start from the current pedestrian overhead bridge at Nakawa.
The express highway will then go to Namboole with an interchange that will form the proposed Southern Bypass from Namboole, which will service the Industrial Park as well as the planned Inland Port at Bukasa.
However, the Government lacks sufficient financial resources to invest, and is opting for partnerships with private companies under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. However, the PPP law is yet to be passed by Parliament.
According to David Luyimbazi, the UNRA Director for Planning, the Kampala-Jinja expressway is viable for investment because on average, the current road handles up to 40,000 vehicles every day and the volume of traffic is growing at an average of between 5-8 percent every year.
