Construction work on the four-lane Kampala-Entebbe Expressway. If the
Kampala-Jinja expressway goes ahead and construction starts June 2020 as
planned, the 95-kilometre road could break a record as the most
expensive road of its length and size in the world. FILE PHOTO | NMG
President Yoweri Museveni’s letter directing the Minister of
Works and Transport to award the Kampala-Jinja expressway contract to a
Chinese company that had lobbied him for the job has exposed how Uganda
handles mega infrastructure projects, a fact that has put the country on
collision course with the World Bank, with the latter citing corruption
and the failure to use established procurement systems.
In the letter, seen by The EastAfrican,
the president directs the minister to stop an on-going procurement
process in a move he calls ‘’controlling Uganda’s growing external
debt’’ but which technocrats in his government say is likely to deny the
country an opportunity to lower the cost of the project.
“I
have expressly ruled out external borrowing except for the railway,
electricity and oil roads,” he says in the letter to Monica Azuba Ntege,
Minister for Works and Transport.
President Museveni
says that instead of carrying out a competitive bidding that would allow
the most efficient company to take over the project, the Kampala-Jinja
expressway should be given to China Railway 17th Bureau Group Company
(CR 17th).
He writes that his decision is motivated by a
meeting he had with officials from CR 17th during which they promised
to build the road with their own finances and would then take over the
road toll collection to recover over $1.4 billion that has been
estimated to be the cost of the Kampala-Jinja expressway.
Officials
from the Uganda National Roads Authority, however, say the
Kampala-Jinja Expressway was planned as a public-private partnership and
CR 17th isn’t offering anything new.
At $1.4 billion, the Kampala-Jinja Expressway will surpass what
Uganda will need to construct an electrified standard gauge railway of
the same length.
The standard gauge railway is
considered to be a more expensive venture but better at reducing the
cost of doing business for the private sector.
Construction
of the 95-kilometre road Kampala-Jinja Expressway will cost $1.1
billion. Estimates from feasibility study that was financed by the
European Union and the African Development Bank suggest compensation
paid to affected persons alone will cost $300 million.
This
brings the total cost of the project to $1.4 billion. Per kilometre,
the road Kampala-Jinja Expressway will cost $14.7 million.
The
cost of the 273-kilometre long Malaba-Kampala standard gauge railway is
expected to cost $2.3 billion. This translates into $8.4 million per
kilometre of the standard gauge railway.
Asked about the high cost, an official at the Uganda National Roads Authority told The EastAfrican that the cost was appropriate as the Kampala-Jinja Expressway, which is a four-lane road requires additional features.
The
official, who declined to be named also said that the features are what
will push up the cost of the road. These include lighting, road tolls,
bridges and an eight-lane section to carter for daily commute users
living in Mukono and surrounding suburbs but working in Kampala.
Most expensive road
If the Kampala-Jinja expressway goes ahead and construction starts June 2020 as planned, the 95-kilometre road could break a record as the most expensive road of its length and size in the world.
If the Kampala-Jinja expressway goes ahead and construction starts June 2020 as planned, the 95-kilometre road could break a record as the most expensive road of its length and size in the world.
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