Entebbe airport floods amid UPDF construction
A flooded section of the departure terminal at Entebbe airport. Photo / Sylvia Katushabe
What you need to know:
- Army spokesperson says the flooding was caused by leaking on the second and third floors of the terminal building, which sections are outside the scope of work contracted to the army.
A downpour on Sunday left part of the departure terminal at Entebbe International Airport flooded, raising fresh questions about the quality of ongoing refurbishment and expansion works.
It was not immediately clear whether shoddy works are to blame for the incident this time, although remodelling of the country’s only international airport has been riddled with reports of suspect workmanship, delays and costly budget overruns.
Officials at the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), however, yesterday said the situation has been contained, with the flooding being attributed to leaking from the upper floors of the terminal building.
“Owing to a heavy downpour in Entebbe on Sunday, September 3, a section of the departure area was temporarily affected by water, which is in proximity to the area of the ongoing airport expansion works. The situation was immediately rectified,” a statement issued by the safety department of the airport said.
The department said it highly regretted inconveniences caused. “Efforts are in place to ensure that this does not recur. The ongoing works are aimed at enhancing the passenger experience,” the statement added.
Construction works at the site of the leakage are being carried out by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Engineering Brigade.
A witness at the airport has told Monitor that the quality of work could be to blame for the structural failure, although army spokesperson, Brig Felix Kulaigye, has denied the military engineers were responsible for whatever went wrong.
Brig Kulaigye said the flooding was caused by leaking on the second and third floors of the terminal building, which sections he said are outside the scope of work contracted to the army.
“It is true there was storm at Entebbe International Airport on Sunday and this caused leaking on the second and third floors of the building. The gutters on those floors had not been worked on for a long time and they had become weak, hence causing the leaking. However, UPDF Engineering Brigade did not work on these two [floors], but is only working on the first floor,” he said.
He also suggested that whoever wants to link the army engineers with the flooding is doing so out of spite.
“Our Engineering Brigade does quality work in all the areas they have worked in. We have completed 89 engineering projects of the original 127 which were given to our engineering brigade and we have been added more projects,” he said.
Brig Kulaigye added: “We have appointed a whole team to monitor the works of the brigade to ensure that quality is maintained because that is our reputation at stake.”
Officials at the aviation authority were not available yesterday to explain who was responsible for works on the floors which sprung a leak.
Mr Fred K. Bamwesigye, the director general at UCAA, did not respond to repeated calls, while the authority’s spokesperson, Mr Vianney Luggya was reported out of the country.
Works on the new departure lounge at Uganda’s only international airport are expected to be complete by end of this month, according to ministry of Works officials. The UCAA launched an upgrade of the passenger terminal under the National Civil Aviation Master Plan in 2015, with the overall cost estimated at $200 million to be funded by China’s Exim Bank.
To-date, the project has been plagued by reports of questionable works, huge cost overruns, delayed progress and failure to meet deadlines.
Over a year ago, even more disheartening reports emerged that China would take over running of the airport to recover the Exim loan. These reports were later denied by the government.
Members of the parliamentary Committee on Physical Infrastructure also last year queried the suitability of the UPDF Engineering Brigade for this phase of the works given its lack of experience with projects of this nature.
Part of the project involved remodelling the existing departure areas and converting the current trunk road into a departures check-in hall.
Other components, included building of a four-storey block; a new four-lane elevated trunk road and an access bridge connecting the departure lounge on the first floor. Installation of a robust storm water drainage network and landscaping works were also part of the job.
The first phase was awarded to M/S Seyani Brothers in 2016 to build the four-storey complex and the raised access road, which areas were completed in 2020.
Army engineers were rolled in for additional work on the passenger terminal building extension on April 9, 2022. This phase was expected to be complete within a year. However, the works have dragged on. They include internal and external finishes on the arrival level and setting up of canopies on passenger walkways. Altogether, this phase was estimated at Shs15 billion.
The entire airport expansion and refurbishment project has been a source of concern to government. Among other issues raised by MPs, Parliament has faulted UCAA for reportedly awarding M/S Seyani Brothers the initial contract without carrying out due diligence.
Additionally, MPs pointed out that mid-stage alterations to the initial design that were given to the contractor inflated the project cost, multiplying it almost seven times over from an initial Shs6.4 billion to Shs42.7 billion.
Last month, Mr Bamwesigye maintained that the multimillion dollar project is 85 percent complete.
“Several sub-components of the project have been completed, including strengthening and rehabilitation of runways 12/30 and 17/35 and the associated taxiways. Aircraft apron 4, 2 and 5 were also completed. The only pending works are on expansion of apron 1, whose works are ongoing and construction of a new 20,000-square metre passenger terminal building, which is at 40 percent level of completion,” he said.
On completion of all the works by July 2024, Entebbe International Airport’s terminal capacity will grow from the current two million passengers a year to at least 3.5 million.
“We also have a separate project for expansion of the current terminal building, which is nearing completion. The departure area is already in use, and soon a canopy to the terminal will be completed by September 2023 so that passengers… simply move from the car to the terminal,” he said.
Clarification on water incident at Entebbe International Airport
Entebbe International Airport experienced a downpour on September 2 and 3, which affected the drainage system, which is part of the drainage pattern under the construction site. This drainage system serves the terminal building.
The extension block to the old terminal building currently accessed through a tent had water leakages caused by debris from ongoing works. These works are expected to be completed by October 2023, and there after commissioned. The ongoing upgrade and expansion of facilities is aimed at better facilitation of passengers and airport users.
Accordingly, a bigger part of the airport is also a construction site and often temporarily affects facilitation. It is worth noting
that several projects are being undertaken concurrently such as construction of a new 20,000 square metres passenger terminal building, which is at 40 percent level of completion to connect to the current terminal building.
As a result of the need for observance of Covid–19 guidelines/standard operating procedures, part of the departure building was opened for travellers while awaiting full completion of the canopy to the terminal building, which is to be completed soon. This will facilitate dropping off passengers from the car to the terminal building and picking-up of arriving passengers from the terminal building. All users of airport facilities are requested to bear with us for any inconveniences caused. This is aimed at enhancing a better passenger experience through Entebbe International Airport on completion.
Civil Aviation Authority
Numbers and safety
Passenger numbers continue to rise at Entebbe after the slump resulting from the lockdown on global travel during the Covid-19 pandemic. Data released by UCAA last month shows the airport processed 842,429 international passengers (413,223 arrivals and 429,206 departures) from January to June.
Mr Fred K. Bamwesigye, the director general at UCAA, said these numbers are over what was registered in the same period in 2022.
“The January to June 2023 traffic is also higher than that recorded before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the same period of January to June 2019, which registered 836,472 international passengers (405,458 arrivals and 431,014 departures),” he said.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), it was estimated that full recovery of Africa’s aviation industry from the adverse effects of the pandemic will take place in 2024.
An agency of the United Nations with 193 affiliated countries, ICAO was established to enable international cooperation on standards, practices, and policies for international civilian flight.
The UCAA says Uganda is this month scheduled to undergo a Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme – Continuous Monitoring Approach to be conducted by ICAO, followed by the Universal Security Audit Programme next year.
Mr Bamwesigye said the audit measures compliance of member states with ICAO safety standards, recommended practices and procedures.
