Locals look to Jinja Expressway to escape jam, boost incomes

As the government finalises plans to construct the Shs5.3 trillion Kampala-Jinja Expressway (KJE), stakeholders are relishing its long-awaited benefits.
This follows a pronouncement by Mr Allan Ssempebwa, the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) public relations officer, that they are in the final stage of securing a contractor to start the construction work.
The KJE is a proposed 76-kilometre four-lane toll highway linking Kampala with Jinja in Eastern Uganda, and will have a design speed of 120km per hour and an urban expressway section of design speed of up 100km per hour.
Upon completion, however, pedestrians, slow-moving vehicles and those with powered wheelchairs will not be allowed to use thd high-speed expressway.
The KJE is expected to start at Shoprite-Lugogo in Nakawa Division, go through Kyambogo, where it will turn to Kinawataka and Kasokoso, Namanve and Mukono, before ending at the New Bridge in Njeru.
According to Mr Ssempebwa, for anyone to access the KJE, they will pay a road toll, which is yet to be set by the Works and Transport Minister.
But Mr Khalid Muyingo, the chairperson of Jinja Taxi Operators and Drivers Association, said once the multi-trillion route to is completed, their income is set to double.
“My team is praying that this expressway is completed because it will create space for other vehicles that have been limiting the movement of taxis,” Mr Muyingo said at the weekend.
He added that the little income being received from their businesses is due to the current narrowness of the road that requires taxi drivers to move at a slow pace.
Mr Ismail Muyimba, the president of Lugazi Municipality Development Forum, a community platform, said the expressway will reduce the number of accidents that have claimed many lives of Ugandans because it is going to be wide.
He added that many Ugandans, including Budiope Member of Parliament Henry Balikoowa and Toroma County MP Cyrus Amodoi, have died on the Jinja-Kampala highway because it is narrow yet busy. Mr Johnson Alerenge, a resident of Lugazi II, Njeru Municipality, Buikwe District, said the KJE will save him from the Jinja- Kampala highway, which he described as “dilapidated, narrow and full of potholes”.
He added: “Once the KJE is constructed, it will ease movement because it will be wide enough compared to the current (Jinja-Kampala) Highway.”
Mr Yasin Kyazze, the mayor of Njeru Municipality in Buikwe District, said the construction of the KJE will spur development, including construction of hotels, schools, health centres and attract investors to set up modern industries that will offer jobs to the locals.
According to Mr Kyazze, locals along the proposed road will also find ready market for their products.
Mr Stephen Sserubula, the Lugazi Municipality Member of Parliament, said the construction of KJE will boost businesses in the areas where it will pass, citing Kampala-Masaka road, where he says businesses and markets are many.
“When the KJE is constructed, people will start businesses along the highway, while markets such as Najjembe and Namawojolo will crop up and this will improve their livelihood,” Mr Sserubula said. 
Mr Francis Baganzi, the corporate manager of Nile Agro Industries Limited in Jinja City, said the KJE will ease quick movement of goods to end users on time due to reduced traffic jams due to its expanded lanes.
Mr Baganzi noted that although the KJE will not accommodate heavily-duty trucks, the government is also constructing the Standard Gauge Railway as an alternative.
Mr Henry Kibuka, the head teacher of Paul Mukasa SS in Mukono District, said construction of KJE will reduce the time students spend on the way, especially on reporting days.
“We have many students coming from the eastern region; however, they always report late because of the (traffic) jam that always starts after Mabira. We are excited that such traffic jam will no longer be an issue after the completion of the KJE,” he said.
Compiled by Denis Edema, Abubaker Kirunda & Tausi Nakato