Land compensation delays Busega - Mpigi road works

Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has partly blamed the delayed construction of the Busega-Mpigi expressway on land compensation disputes.

Mr Allan Ssempebwa, the UNRA deputy head of public and corporate affairs, said some residents with land related issues decided to settle their cases in court, something that has taken longer than anticipated.

“We have some few land cases which are still being handled by court and they have delayed the road project. We, however, hope that by end of this month [March], every case will be settled and the contractor will commence civil works,” he said on Monday.

UNRA had earlier indicated that they would commence the construction of the highway in November last year.

But Mr Ssempebwa said Unra has so far secured at least 20kms of the right of way on the proposed 23.7km Busega-Mpigi expressway to enable the contractor start work.

“We had only secured 5kms on the right of way by November, which were not enough for the contractor to commence work, but the contractor can now start work and we don’t expect any hindrances,” Mr Ssempebwa added. The contractor has since set up one of the camp sites at Kagezi Village in Kiringente Sub-county about 3kms off Kampala-Masaka road where the construction materials are being collected.

The new road will pass through 21 villages in two town councils (Kyengera and Mpigi) and two sub-counties of Kiringete and Wakiso.

UNRA also indicates that of 1,156 project affected persons (PAPs), 970 have so far been compensated and the remaining PAPs have not yet been paid due to land disputes.

Mr Joseph Sengendo, the chairperson of Lungala Village, confirmed that many PAPs have been compensated. So far, more than 200 houses have been demolished in the villages of Kalagala, Mawonve, Lufuka, Police Centre, Mpami-Bikondo, Ggala, Maziba-Nkonge, and Lungala –all in Mpigi Town Council.

Each PAP is given three months to vacate their premises upon receiving their compensation.
Ms Milly Lusiisa, one of the PAPs, said she received her compensation last September and she is putting up her new house.
Cost of project
The project, which is expected to take 30 months, will cost Shs547b.

The proposed new expressway will include four major interchanges to facilitate connection with roads at Nabbingo, Nsangi, Maya and Lungala in Wakiso District off both the Northern Bypass and the Entebbe-Expressway.

The expressway is among the roads that had been lined up for construction in 2011, but delays to secure funds and procuring a suitable contractor have been blamed for the holding back of the project.

UNRA awarded the contract to a consortium of Chinese companies including China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and China Railway 19th Bureau Group Company Ltd.

Last year, the Inspector General of Government (IGG), Ms Irene Mulyagonja, directed the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) to investigate the procurement process following numerous whistleblowers’ complaints that the bid documents submitted by CMC Di Ravenna/Advent were inconsistent with the bidder’s name and where the company is registered.

Later, the PPDA released a report indicating that CMC Di Ravenna/Advent, which Unra had selected to construct the road had inconsistencies in its bid documents.

Expressway route
The proposed Busega-Mpigi expressway starts at Busega in Kampala and takes the south-western direction to Mpigi Town through several villages and swamps.
It will connect to the existing Kampala–Masaka –Mbarara highway at Lungala Village. The Kampala–Masaka –Mbarara highway leads to the common border with Rwanda.
It is one of the busiest highways in the country with an average daily traffic count of 20,908 vehicles using the route.