Govt seeks more land to develop Source of the Nile

The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities says it is looking for land covering a radius of 3km radius to establish the development of the Source of the Nile masterplan.

The Source of the Nile is surrounded by Njeru Municipality Council in Buikwe District on the side of Buganda and Jinja City in Busoga Sub-region.

The assistant commissioner in the ministry, Mr Vivian Lyazi, said the available land is not enough to accommodate projects in the masterplan.

“As a ministry, we want to transform the Source of the Nile into an iconic tourism destination in the world. There are a lot of innovations that come with the development of the place as per the design that needed more land for the establishment,” Mr Lyazi said in an interview in Jinja City on Wednesday.

The coordinator of the Source of the Nile development at the ministry, Mr Andrew Jimmy Kigozi, said the project is expected to start in the next financial year with the construction of an observation tower and pier since land for both has been offered by Jinja City Council.

Mr Kigozi, who added that the government is in the final stages of procuring a contractor, was, however, noncommittal on the project cost, saying negotiations are still ongoing.

“When the Solicitor General approves the document, the actual cost shall be established; otherwise, procurement of the contractor is in the process and once this is done, we shall be in the position to start the compensation of the people falling in that 3-km radius,” he said.

“As for now, we cannot say how much the project will cost since negotiations are (still) ongoing with the Solicitor General,” Mr Kigozi added.

Planned innovations
Among some of the innovations to be put in place at the Source of the Nile include; modern museums, the Nile village and cultural centre, children park, restaurants, viewing deck, and health clinic.

Dr Kosea Wambaka, a consultant behind the project masterplan, said the 3kms will start on either side of the Source of the River Nile banks.

He, however, noted that initially, a buffer zone on Lake Victoria should be 150 meters and 100 meters for the river.  Mr Charles Nampendo, the senior Jinja City Physical Planner, said the National Physical Planning Authority has already approved the physical development masterplan of Jinja City.

“As Jinja City, we are not going to change anything regarding our physical development plan because we consulted the Ministry of Tourism when developing the city masterplan ahead of development of the Source of the Nile,” Mr Nampendo added.

The chairperson of Uganda Tourism Board, Mr Daudi Migereko, said the project has been delayed due to lack of land and urged all stakeholders to play their role and ensure that nobody sabotages the project.

“Many projects have failed to start simply because of one or two people, but for this particular one, we need to be positive and talk to people for it to start as soon as possible,” he said.

The Njeru Municipality Mayor, Mr Yasin Kyazze, said the project will benefit many people on both sides of the river, including creating many employment opportunities.