Kampala Entebbe Expressway gets fully completed in July
Jun 26, 2019
Xiong Pai Liang, deputy project manager China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) said completion of a small section, about 7km of the of the 49.56 km expressway delayed due to challenges which have now been overcome.
INFRASTRUCTURE
The China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) has said they are set to complete the remaining portion of the Kampala to Entebbe Expressway that was not completed due to land acquisition and financial challenges.
Xiong Pai Liang, deputy project manager China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) said completion of a small section, about 7km of the of the 49.56 km expressway delayed due to challenges which have now been overcome.
CCCC are the contractors of the four lane $476m (sh1.8 trillion) expressway. They started work in November 2012. Last May, President Yoweri Museveni and Wang Yang the Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) commissioned the completed section of the road.
"By end of July we will have finished all the work. We will hand over the completed section to the Uganda National Roads Authority," Liang said. Liang told the media during an inspection tour of the expressway.
Eng. Patrick Ssenteza, civil engineer at the Quality control department of CCCC said progress of work was on schedule but rain was disturbing progress. Ssenteza said the road stood at 96% completion level currently.
Ssenteza said there were cases of individuals stealing and vandalizing road signs and materials. "In some parts of the roads fences have been stolen and goats and cows were beginning to enter the road which makes it unsafe for high speed driving. The Police Patrol has started monitoring the road which has reduced the cases of thefts," Ssenteza said.
He added the roads have been clearly marked with clear signage but some motorists were knocking and crushing down barriers and chain link especially on the incomplete section of the Mpala to State House, Entebbe.
Dong Yingnan, legal manager CCCC said the road will improve transport and the quality of life in Uganda.
Oscar Mugabe, legal counsel CCCC said the land acquisition arose due to disputes within families of who is supposed to receive the money. Mugabe said the money for such areas had been deposited in court to enable work proceed as the families have gone to court.
"Some families were not agreeing on the right persons entitled to get compensation. Some of these things ended up going to court. Whoever wins the case in the courts will take the money. The courts are always available to listen to complaints," Mugabe said.
In November 2010, the Government of Uganda and China signed an agreement where the Chinese government through the Exim Bank of China, would lend up to $350m for the construction of the highway, repayable over 40 nyears.
Government of Uganda on the other hand also provided $126m (mainly for land compensations) making the total cost of the expressway $476m (sh1.8 trillion).
Parliament last month passed The Roads Bill, 2018 which provides for the collection of road tolls to pay off the loan for the road. The expressway is currently Uganda's only toll road with a total of three main toll plazas that consists of a total of 16 toll gates.
The Bill once assented to by the President, will replace the current Roads Act 1960 and Access to Roads Act 1960. The bill provides for the advertising and selection of a company to collect the road toll and undertake maintenance of the expressway.
It used to take two hours to drive between Entebbe and Kampala, now this has been reduced to 40 minutes with vehicles expected to drive at not less than 50km/h.