MV Pamba to resume operation in June

MINISTER | KABATSI | MV PAMPA

KAMPALA - State minister for works Joy Kabatsi has rejected a proposal by Uganda Railways Corporation to grant investors a 25-year contract to manage MV Pamba vessel.

The vessel, which is currently under rehabilitation at PortBell Luzira, is expected to resume operation in June, after 16 years.

The Government is losing billions of shillings following the grounding of the MV Kaawa and MV Pamba vessels. The two vessels used to ply between Uganda and Tanzania on Lake Victoria.

The Government recommissioned the MV Kaawa to ply the Kampala-Dar es Salaam route in September 2012 after being grounded for seven years, following an accident with MV Kabalega.

The Government is losing billions of shillings following the grounding of the MV Kaawa and MV Pamba vessels. The two vessels used to ply between Uganda and Tanzania on Lake Victoria.

In 2016, government announced plans to rehabilitate MV Pamba and upgrade it to comply with international marine regulations and to enable it to be re-admitted into the marine class to handle increased volumes of transport.

“Giving investors long-term concessions does not give them opportunities to effectively benefit out of the concession because it gives them time to plan before they hand over,” Kabatsi said.

She, therefore, urged government to give short-term contracts to investors ready to work in Uganda. Kabatsi made the remarks on Friday (April 9, 2021), while inspecting the MV Pamba vessel which is managed by Mango Tree Group, a Chinese company.

The MV Pamba and MV Kawa vessels collided in 2005, a few meters away from Port Bell. MV Pamba has been grounded at Port-Bell Luzira for the last 16 years from the time of the accident.

“I prefer dealing with private investors because when they are given work, you get results in time. The Government released sh117b funded by the World Bank to rehabilitate MV Kabalega, but the work was not done well,” Kabatsi said.

She said when rehabilitation is completed; the vessel will operate in Mwanza and Kisumu ports.

Mango Tree Group chief executive officer Fan Shachun said they have invested sh12.7b in rehabilitating the vessel, and that 80% of the works is complete.