Uganda engineers to form joint ventures with South African civil companies

Mar 30, 2016

The memorandum of understanding will also facilitate Ugandan civil construction companies to enter joint ventures with South African ones

The Ugandan transport and works ministry on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the South African transport counterparts, which will enable a sharing of knowledge and experiences between the two agencies to build better road and air and water transport networks in the two African countries.

The memorandum of understanding will also facilitate Ugandan civil construction companies to enter joint ventures with South African ones to improve the transport network in the two countries.

Speaking at the memorandum of understanding's signing ceremony at the Foreign Affairs ministry in Kampala, works minister Eng. John Byabagambi said: "this MoU is very special. We shall have working committees (from the two countries) sit biannually to discuss how best we can solve the challenges of traffic to create better transport systems."

"There is a lot Uganda can learn from South Africa. For instance, from their electronic tolling system (where persons have to pay to access certain roads). And, there is a lot they can learn from us. Like our solar-powered bus innovation," the works minister said.

"We have to explore the idea (of electronic tolling system) because we want good quality transport infrastructure. And good quality transport infrastructure is expensive. So, we would want our citizens to contribute, not only the governments," Elisabeth Dipuo Peters, the minister of transport in South Africa, said.

"We need to find a solution to traffic congestion. Because the longer we stay stuck in traffic queues the more our vehicles continue to emit these (toxic) gases into the air," Elisabeth Dipuo Peters said.

The signing of the MoU was after bilateral talks between the two countries at Hotel Africana where the countries discussed an array of issues affecting their transport systems.

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