By Arthur Arnold Wadero
Government has licensed a French company to manage the road toll and maintenance of the Entebbe Expressway, Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) has said.The French firm, Egis Roads Operation S. A, will start work after the official signing ceremony in March. The Unra director in charge of Network Planning and Engineering, Mr Isaac Wani, said government has not yet determined the levy that motorists will pay to use the road.
“The Minister of Works is in discussion with the Minister of Finance as far as that tolling system is concerned. One of the chapters in that tolling strategy relates to how much motorists will be expected to pay for the different classes of the vehicles to plie the expressway,” Mr Wani said at a press conference at Unra offices in Kampala yesterday.He added: “This was based on the study and willingness to pay that was in a survey we carried out and we made proposals on how much each class of vehicles will pay.”
Kampala-Jinja ExpresswayIn the same way, Unra executive director Allen Kagina revealed that government is making headway on the Kampala-Jinja Expressway project.“The preparation for the Kampala-Jinja Expressway project as PPP (public-private partnership) is now complete. Unra is awaiting final clearance and guidance from government before going to tender,” Ms Kagina said.
She added: “Unra is now procuring a maintenance contract for the Nakawa-Njeru road (72km). Periodic maintenance and rehabilitation of some failed sections will depend on the specific technical needs. The contractor is expected to be on site by end of March.”ChallengesThe Unra director for Roads and Bridges Maintenance, Mr Sam Muhoozi, decried shortage of funding, which he said affected some major construction works on the bypass. He said Shs381b was spent on land acquisition and compensation alone.
“A newly-tarmacked road should receive a maintenance of seven to eight years after construction so that it can serve its 15-year period [but] because we don’t have enough funds for road maintenance, the little we have is concentrated on construction,” Mr Muhoozi said.He said Unra work-rate was heavily impeded by the Covid-19 pandemic that stalled road works on major routes, especially at the border areas. Heavy rains and raising water levels also occasionally made roads impassable and thus affected ferry operations by submerging the landing sites.
NORTHERN BYPASSMeanwhile, the Unra director for Roads and Bridges Maintenance, Mr Sam Muhoozi, said the Northern Bypass will be completed by June except for some accessories which will be done in October.“By end of June, the road will be substantially complete, implying that all the interchanges and pavements will be done and we shall be left with a few services or works such as lighting and drainage works,” Mr Muhoozi said.
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