Japan to finance Kibuye Busega Expressway project

The Japanese government is to finance the construction of the Kibuye-Busega Expressway linking Kampala city to the gateway to south and southwestern Uganda.

The expressway is planned to connect to the Busega-Mpigi expressway in the south and Entebbe-Kampala expressway as well as the Northern Bypass.

The 8km multi-billion shilling project, intended to ease the flow of traffic in the metropolitan areas, is at appraisal financing stage by the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA).

Allan Ssempebwa, the Uganda National Roads Authority spokesperson, said the infrastructure would help to ease the flow of traffic, facilitate trade and reduce working hours wasted in the daily traffic gridlock as well as steer economic growth.

MODERN BRIDGE

Samson Bagonza, the works ministry's engineer-in-chief, said the Kibuye-Busega Expressway would see a modern bridge built over Kibuye, Ndeeba, Nalukolongo and Nateete. Eng. Bagonza was speaking to journalists on Monday, October 12 after a send-off function for the outgoing Japanese ambassador to Uganda, Kameda Kazuaki, who was hosted by the works minister, Gen. Katumba Wamala, at the ministry headquarters in Kampala.

Bagonza said the Kibuye-Busega Expressway's cost is estimated at $500m.

He said the Kampala flyover project Lot 1 is expected to cost $66m while the River Nile Bridge cost $112m. Gen. Katumba thanked the envoy for helping the ministry realise the implementation of a number of projects, including the Nile Bridge, a cable suspension bridge across River Nile at Njeru, which, he said, was a landmark structure.

He also applauded the envoy for helping Uganda secure sh14b for the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

Katumba told the envoy that Uganda still needed support in containing the second wave of the pandemic.

Kameda said he was happy that works on the construction of a training school for operators of road equipment in Luwero was going on smoothly.

He said his successor, Fukuzawa, will be arriving in the country towards the end of October.