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Local governments (LGs) have been urged to scale up regulatory measures on physical development in cities and other urban centres in the country.

Local government minister Raphael Magyezi said last week that the move will minimise haphazard settlements and ensure efficient utilisation of land, especially in urban areas.

"Colleagues let's play our part to have organised development and secure our environment, preserve sites that have special architectural and historical value, and also enact bylaws so that we regulate physical development in our areas," he said.

He was speaking during the launch of the National Physical Development Plan (NPDP) at the President’s Office in Kampala on Wednesday, April 17.

The event was presided over by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Affairs Rebecca Kadaga and was attended by over 10 ministers.

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (2020) figures, Uganda’s population is projected to hit 75 million by 2040 and 100 million by 2060.

This poses a challenge for livelihoods and settlement considering that land is not elastic.

The NPDP plan is partly tailored to streamline planning in urban areas in anticipation of an increase in the urban population from 20 per cent of the total Uganda population to 40 per cent of the population.

Under the plan, the Government plans to gazette areas for different economic activities in a bid to realise more economies of scale.

Some of these creations include strategic agricultural zones, Natural resource zones, biodiversity zones, and infrastructural zones.