Residents ask govt to expedite plan for the toll-bridge in Entebbe

Leaders in Entebbe Municipality have tasked the government to provide a timeline for constructing a suspension toll-bridge connecting Buwaya Island in Kasanje Town Council, Wakiso District, to Entebbe Town.

If constructed, the bridge will offer a shorter route connecting Entebbe to the Kampala-Masaka highway in Mpigi District. The project, initially proposed under the National Development Plan III, hasn’t yet taken off.

According to Mr Michael Kakembo, the Entebbe Municipality legislator, the bridge is more needed than ever before due to the increasing number of people settling in Buwaya. Many of these people commute daily to work in Entebbe Town using the Nakiwogo-Buwaya ferry and private wooden boats. Others have bought agricultural land, and they supply considerable tonnes of food and crops to various markets in Entebbe but face transport challenges.

“We need an update on this project promised by the government. Residents in Buwaya spend a lot of money on transport, with boat fares being particularly costly; they also face limited access to education since school-going children have to cross the lake to attend schools in Entebbe daily,’’ Mr Kakembo said during an interview on Wednesday. He said traders in Buwaya also incur additional expenses while transporting goods to Entebbe.

Benefits expected from the bridge

There are a lot of potential benefits if the proposed bridge is constructed. There will be increased revenue through increased economic activity and tourism. On tourism growth, the bridge will provide easier access to tourist attractions in Buwaya, such as the Mabamba Shoebill site, potentially increasing tourism revenue,’’ he explained  Mr Richard Ssekyondo, the chairperson of Entebbe Division B, advised government that if it doesn’t have money, it should consider a public-private partnership to have the project done.

“The project was reportedly allocated some money in the 2021-2022 budget, but if money is an issue, let the government get investors so that after the construction of the bridge, they set up road tolls similar to those on Entebbe Express high-ways as a viable funding option,’’ he said Mr Ssekyondo said Entebbe's low population affects the performance of government facilities like the multi-billion Kitooro Market and taxi park, making them liabilities for the Municipal Council.

“We have limited economic opportunities since there’s lack of connectivity, which hinders economic growth and development in the area,’’ he added .

Ms Giida Nakibira, a resident of Buwaya and a market vendor at Kitooro Market, expressed her frustration, saying: "We thought the bridge construction would ease our transportation woes, but it turned out to be a white elephant." She claims that the available ferry services are not reliable, and residents, plus other travellers, are sometimes forced to rely on private wooden boats to cross from Entebbe to Buwaya. “When you fail to catch the ferry, you have to use private boats which charge Shs3,000 per trip, which is unaffordable for many residents,’’ she added Works and Transport Minister Gen Edward Katumba Wamala said the Nakiwogo-Buwaya Bridge project is still in the planning stages. “It takes a lot of planning before it becomes a reality, so it's premature to give a time frame when it will kick off," he said.

Once the bridge is constructed, Gen Katumba said it will spur economic growth in the area. “ However, I need to first have firm details before I excite people about something expected in the National Development Plan IV," he added Uganda’s National Development Plan IV (NDPIV ) is set to start in the FY 2025/26 and will run until 2029/2030 which aims to achieve higher household incomes, full economic monetisation and employment for sustainable socio-economic transformation. Currently, MV Nakiwogo II, the only public vessel plying the Entebbe Nakiwogo – Buwaya route on Lake Victoria, offers a temporary solution to the transport challenges, and the bridge is expected to provide a more sustainable and efficient connection between Entebbe and Mpigi. The distance between Nakiwogo Docking site to Buwaya is estimated to be four kilometres. Already, Gen Katumba said the government is tarmacking the Nateete-Nakawuka-Kisubi –Mpigi –Kasanje –Buwaya road as part of the plan to ease connectivity in the area.

Traffic jam

Some tourists who come to Uganda through Entebbe International Airport sometimes want to avoid the menacing traffic gridlock in Kampala, and this forces them to use the Nakiwogo-Buwaya route to connect to the Kampala-Masaka Highway, but the road network in the area is still poor.