The Uganda National Roads Authority Executive Director Allen Kagina says that this financial year, seven key road projects will be completed including Mbarara Bypass but insists if Government is to meet the deadline of 10 oil roads, $600m (about Shs3 trillion), must be secured by November to the roads body to commence work.
The 10 oil roads include: Masindi-Kisanja road junction (84km), Masindi through Murchision Falls game park, Kibale-Kizirafumbi-Kaseete-Lwera via Bugoma forest (54km), Pakwach-Paraa-Bulisa (66km), Bahimba-Nalweyo-Kakindu-Kakumiro-Mubende (51km), Lusalira-Nkonge-Lumegere-Sembabule and Kyotera-Rakai road (60km) among others.
President Yoweri Museveni’s government has set the 2020 target for oil production in the country with working on infrastructure to fuel the process of oil production being a key ingredient of the oil agenda.
“We need $600m for the oil roads,” UNRA’s head of design Patrick Muleme said in Nakawa on Tuesday alongside Ms. Kagina during the end of financial year 2016/2017 press conference. “For us to meet the deadline, we need to secure this funding on time and to be able to do that, the Ministry of Finance has to sign the commercial contracts with China Exim Bank by November.”
“We had a budget shortfall of Shs700b for development and Shs280b for road maintenance,” Kagina insisted adding that that it exposes the government’s programmes to ‘possible poor quality’.
Kagina told media that Mbarara Bypass, Kampala Entebbe Express highway, Rushere-Nswerenkye, Mukono-kyetume-Katosi and Gulu-Acholibur projects will be completed this financial year.
