Prime
Lake Kyoga ferry starts work mid this year
The engines at Nakawa Industrial Area, in Kampala. PHOTO BY ANDREW BAGALA.
What you need to know:
The ferry, though will be mobile, will help link Nakasongola to Lango, improving the transport sector.
KAMPALA
A ferry that will connect Nakasongola District to Lango Sub-region, currently under construction, will be able to provide transport services mid this year following acquisition of four engines, Uganda National Roads Authority officials and ferry builders have said.
The builders, Johs-Hansen Company, have procured four engines which were some of the last equipment needed to complete the ferry construction.
UNRA spokesperson Dan Alinange on Tuesday said the ferry will act as a mobile bridge on Lake Kyoga to ease transport between the two areas.
“We would have liked to have a permanent bridge on Lake Kyoga to connect Nakasongola District to Lango region but we haven’t got enough resources therefore we are establishing a ferry in two to three months’ time to act as a mobile bridge,” Mr Alinange said.
The ferry, measuring 27.86 metres by 12.25 metres, will carry 72 passengers and 12 cars. Mr Alinange said the ferry will take one hour and 45 minutes to sail from Rwampanga in Nakasongola to Namasale in Amolatar District in Lango.
If the Rwampanga-Namasale ferry starts work, it will bring the number of government ferries in the country to eight. All government-owned ferries transport people free of charge.
Expensive construction
However, the construction of the ferry has not been an easy sailing for the builders due to challenges ranging from power outages, shortage of qualified mechanical engineers in the country to scarcity of good quality materials.
Mr Sanjay Mishra, the regional manager for Johs-Hansen, said power shortages at times led to loss of at least eight working hours.
“We are importing 90 per cent of the materials we use which is a big challenge. We have used 25 tonnes of welding rods but we have to import them from China because if we use the one from here that are of low quality, we shall do a poor job,” Mr Mishra said.
Setting up the ferry has cost the government at least Shs7 billion. Uganda has a number of ferries which operate mostly on Lake Victoria and another that operates at Murchison Falls National Park.
