Upgrade of $12 million Entebbe-Kibuye road to be completed in August

Workers constructing drainage channels at Kisubi, Wakiso District as part of the ongoing works on the Entebbe-Kibuye road. PHOTO/EVE MUGANGA

What you need to know:

  • Entebbe Road is one of the busiest in Uganda. It is a getaway to Uganda’s only international airport. 

Chinese Communication Construction Company (CCCC) has said upgrades on Entebbe-Kibuye road will  be completed in August .

Speaking during a site inspection of the 22-kilometre road project, Mr Guo Zitong, the CCCC site engineer, said works, which commenced in August last year, are expected to be completed in about five months. 

The $12m project under Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) stretches from Mpala, Entebbe in Wakiso District to Kibuye in Kampala.

The project scope, which Mr Zitong said is 50 percent complete, includes repairing of existing walkways, construction of drainage channels to reduce flooding, especially around the Kajjansi area and putting in place street lights, among others. 

However, Mr Zitong said works had been affected by traffic jams, forcing workers to shift much of their activities to night hours.  

Mr Allan Ssempebwa, the UNRA media relations manager, said activities being done between Mpala and Kisubi included stone pitching of side drains to aid adequate flow of storm water, shoulder repair, major full road width repairs, installation of access culverts as well as construction of access roads to reduce the damage of silt on main pavements, among others.

Entebbe Road is one of the busiest in Uganda. It is a getaway to Uganda’s only international airport. 
Traffic on the road had substantially reduced but has since picked up since government introduced payment for motorists using the Entebbe–Express Highway.  

Many motorists have, since the road was completed in 2019, used it as an alternative to avoid congestion on the Kampala-Entebbe road.  

Mr Francis Ojok, who represented the officer in charge of Traffic of the Kajjansi area, said the upgrades will go a long way in freeing up traffic, noting that it will also create pedestrian walkways that will substantially cut back on accidents. 

“This road construction has helped so much because I have been timing whenever we are regulating traffic flow, it used to take me from 6am upto around 9 or 10am but now within this period, jam clears by 8am and the traffic flow is very normal,” he said. 

However, he noted that because they have to block a part of the road to, it has been hectic to manage traffic flow. 

According to the Assistant Superintendent of Police Luke Nuwataho, the Kajjansa area has been experiencing flooding, which is expected to be resolved by the current works. 

“They should also provide road signs for speed limit and dividing lines,” he said.