Lira Sub-county: Opportunity to invest in student accommodation

A road leading to Lira University in Lira Sub-county. This is a virgin area for investing in student accommodation. PHOTO BY BARBARA AKITE

What you need to know:

Are you interested in investing in student accommodation but not sure where to buy land? Lira Sub-county is virgin land for student accommodation business.

Located two kilometres away from the heart of Lira Town, Lira Sub-county is one of best places for one to invest in Lira District. It is one of the booming areas in the outskirts of Lira Town.
This administrative unit is away from all the noise that comes with busy areas.
Lira Sub-county is home to thousands of formerly internally displaced persons that were left homeless by the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency.
Soon to be part of Lira Municipality, Lira Sub-county consists of four parishes; Amuca, Barapwo, Anai and Omito.
Population
There are 35,000 people living in Lira Sub-county, according to the National Population and Housing Census, 2014.
However, the population is believed to have increased because of the establishment of Lira University, which has attracted more people to the area.
A boda boda motorcycle ride from Lira Town to Lira Sub-county costs between Shs2,500 and Shs3,000 depending on your departure and destination point. However, one can choose to foot from town to this area.
Business prospect
One can consider investing in real estate business in this area because it has ready market provided by Lira University.
At the moment, there is inadequate accommodation for students.
Economic activities
Solomon Odongo, the chairperson of Elwa Village, says one can invest in real estate in the area without worrying about where to get clients.
Denis Awon, the area sub-county chairperson, says farming is no longer a serious economic activity in the area because land is already fragmented.
“If you are doing commercial farming, you need a big chunk of land and yet you can’t get a piece of land of about four to six acres here,” he says.
He says if one would like to invest in large scale farming, the neighbouring Bala Sub-county in Kole District is better.

Security
Each parish in Lira Sub-county has a police outpost. Isaac Okello, a resident of Ayere Village says, they move freely both during the day and at night because it is safe unlike other areas in Lira Town where street children attack people at night. Grace Adongo, a resident of Te-okole Village, says: “We cooperate highly with the police and this has contributed greatly to the peace, law and order in the area.”
Social facilities
In the entire Lira Sub-county, there are about 189 water sources though not all are functional at the moment, according to the sub-county chairperson. There are two health centres including Barapwo health centre III and Amuca health centre III and a number of clinics and drug shops.
In terms of education, Lira Sub-county is one of the luckiest administrative units in Lira District.
It has a number of schools which, are both private and government-aided, ranging from nursery to university.
Accessibility
Its location on the Lira-Kampala highway makes it easily accessible. Most of the roads around it are wide.
Land and rentals
Awon says Lira-sub-county is a peri urban area with a customary and leasehold land tenure system.
With the establishment of Lira University in the area, the cost of land immediately shot up, the chairman says.
“A plot of land that used to go for as low as Shs3m is now between Shs35m and Shs60m depending on its location.The land is readily available for purchase,” he adds.

Rent
A single room with power for both business and accommodation within the area goes for Shs50,000 and above. One can also rent a double room at Shs100,000 to Shs150,000.
Electricity
Currently, the area is well covered with electricity thanks to government through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) for extended power to the sub-county, so no need to worry about electricity.