Construction of Kampala city roads takes shape

The projects, which are being rolled out in the divisions of Kampala Central, Nakawa, Makindye, Kawempe, and Rubaga have since excited both city residents and motorists as the newly constructed roads have sidewalks for pedestrians.
The five-year $183.7m(Shs667b) project is funded by the World Bank and the government of Uganda and is being implemented by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).

Mr Ayub Kaweesa, 42, a taxi driver who plies the Kampala-Kisaasi route, said the construction of roads is a big milestone for commercial road users.
“Every taxi [driver] pays about Shs1.2m annually as road user fees to KCCA. We have for a long time been questioning why they don’t construct roads yet we pay taxes. However, with the new roads, we shall no longer worry about congestion,” he said.
Mr Andew Kitaka, the KCCA director of engineering and technical services, told Daily Monitor that the KIIDP-2 project will see all major roads and junctions constructed in the city.

Other roads set for construction are Nakawa-Ntinda road, John Bahiha (Acacia) Avenue, Kabuusu-Bunamwaya-Lweza and Lukuli roads.
“All the new roads will have traffic lights fitted with cameras to curb crime in the city and all junctions will be signalled. Kampala has for long been grappling with bad roads but with this project, the road network will improve,’ Mr Kitaka said.
KCCA has installed traffic lights on Fairway Junction on Yusuf Lule Road, Bwaise junction on Mambule Road, Kabira junction on Kiira Road and on Makerere Hill Road.

The installation of the new traffic lights comes at a time when the city is grappling with traffic jam which is partly caused by lack of signalised junctions in the Central Business District (CBD).

Before KCCA came into being, Kampala city had only eight signalled junctions. However, with the KIIDP-2 project, at least 40 junctions will be signalled, according to the authority.

Mr Ronald Balimwezo Nsubuga, the Nakawa Division mayor, said the roads’ construction project, especially in Nakawa, had stalled because some residents had at first refused to surrender some part of their land.
“We are now happy because those residents have surrendered part of their land for the project, having seen the importance of roads,” he said.

However, Mr Nsubuga, called for the need to tarmack feeder roads which feed into the main roads to ease mobility in all parts of the city.
He said the project should favour both the rich and poor because they all pay taxes.
KCCA’s plan is to overhaul the entire city’s infrastructure to unlock some of the barriers to Kampala’s economy.

According to the authority, out of the 2,100kms roads in the city only 500kms are tarmacked.
KCCA took over a road network of 1,200Kms in 2011.
However, a new road inventory conducted in 2015 established that the city had a total road network of 2,110 Km out of which 575Kms are paved and 1,535Kms not paved.
KCCA’s Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) allocation for 2018/19, a copy of which we have seen, is estimated at Shs458.33b.
According to the MTEF, the directorate of engineering and technical services will take the lion’s share of Shs246b.

However, Mr Ismail Matovu, a trader at Ham Shopping Mall, challenged the city authority to start relocating commuter taxis, boda bodas and buses from the city centre, arguing that if they aren’t relocated, traffic jam will not stop despite the newly constructed roads.
“You can’t construct these good roads and expect better results when all taxis, lorries, buses, and private cars are competing for the same roads,” Mr Matovu said.
Government through KCCA in 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with private investors to construct bus terminals in the periphery as a means of decongesting the city, the situation still remains at large.

In reference to the relocation plan, buses would be distributed according to the routes they ply and as such, all buses that are currently operating from the city centre would be relocated to three terminals; Nateete, Bwaise and Banda.
Buses plying the northern route would operate from the Bwaise terminal and those plying the eastern route would operate from the Banda terminal. Those plying the western route would operate from Nateete/Busega terminal. But even when Nateete is ready, no bus has been relocated yet.

Non-motorised transport
Mr Jacob Byamukama, the KCCA manager of roads, said the Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) system, whose pilot study was launched in 2015, will kick start this year.
The project is estimated to cost Shs3b.
According to the plan, Namirembe Road and Luwum Street will be left to pedestrians and cyclists. “We are now set and I can assure all Ugandans and Kampala residents that we are working on many infrastructural developments which will make Kampala a first class city,” he said recently.

But Mr Samuel Serunkuuma, the KCCA acting executive director, told journalists shortly after council meeting last week that although the plan for NMT is now available, they will not start its implementation before engaging people operating on the selected roads.
“We need to engage city stakeholders and all people operating on these roads because the project might affect some of them,” he said.

ROAD FUNDING
In the 2015/16 financial year, KCCA allocated Shs159.2b to the works and road infrastructure improvement sector.
In the 2016/2017 financial year, KCCA received Shs280.8 billion under the Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project (KIIDP) phase two funded by the World Bank.

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