Government seeks sh774b loan to complete Busega–Mpigi Expressway

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The government has asked Parliament to approve additional loans worth €188.18m (sh774b) from the African Development Bank and the African Development Fund to support the completion of the Busega–Mpigi Expressway.

The state minister for finance, Henry Musasizi, tabled the request before Parliament on Wednesday, September 3, 2025. He explained that the project, first approved in 2016, has been delayed and is facing significant cost overruns due to design changes that expanded its scope.

Cost escalations

Originally estimated at €174.73m, the project cost has risen to €423.24m, creating a financing gap of €248.51m. The overruns stem from the inclusion of toll plazas, traffic interchanges, service lanes, link roads and an additional 3.6 km extension at Mpigi, which are all considered essential for the expressway to operate effectively as a toll road.

As of September 2024, physical progress stood at 45%, below the planned 55%. Without fresh financing, officials warned, the project could stall, undermining its economic benefits and wasting investments already made.

Key features of the project

The 27.3 km dual carriageway will include five traffic interchanges at Busega, Nabbingo, Maya, Lungala and Mpigi, four link roads (16.7 km), 4.6 km of service lanes and four toll plazas. Additional drainage systems will be installed to protect the road from flooding.

When completed, the expressway is expected to ease congestion in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area, improve freight and passenger flows along the Northern Corridor, and reduce travel times and trade costs.

It is also expected to enhance regional integration, particularly with Rwanda, under the multinational road project covering the Busega–Mpigi and Kagitumba–Kayonza–Rusumo routes.

The project is projected to create 800 direct construction jobs and 400 indirect jobs, with young people expected to take up 880 positions and women 610.

Strategic importance

Musasizi said the project is aligned with Uganda’s Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV) and is critical to economic growth, infrastructure modernisation and regional integration.

“The successful implementation of this project is vital for reducing congestion, improving transport efficiency, and fostering trade and development,” he told Parliament.

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among urged the Committee on the National Economy to scrutinise the loan request urgently, noting that the funds have a grant component.

Financing plan

The AfDB will provide the bulk of the new funding (€188.18m), supplemented by €28.31m from ADF and a New Partnership for Africa's Development – Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) grant of €0.96m. The government will contribute €31.06m as counterpart funding.

This comes on top of the initial financing of UA 136.13m, which comprised an AfDB loan of €83.62m, an ADF loan of UA 42.5m and the government’s counterpart contribution of €37.79m.

The minister said that once completed, the Busega–Mpigi Expressway is expected to significantly improve mobility in central Uganda, reduce transport costs and strengthen Uganda’s position as a regional trade hub.