The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The on-going renovation works at the 0.9 km Queensway road that stretches from the Queens Tower to Kibuye round about will cost an estimated Shillings 2.4 billion.
Abubaker Technical Services are undertaking the works on a retainer contract having been contracted at 31.5 billion Shillings to rehabilitate selected roads in Makindye Division.
Road works that started in March involves replacement of the formation layer also known as the sub-base, the base layer which is made out of a mixture of crushed rocks and murram and the Asphalt made layer.
The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, 2003 states that a retainer contract shall be used to retain a provider to provide services over a prescribed period of time, without defining the level and actual amounts of services required. The cost of renovations of the road were not yet known.
Now after parliament passed a supplementary budget of Shillings 10 billion for Kampala Capital City Authority – KCCA to work on city roads, the Acting Executive Director Andrew Kitaka told URN that the works at the road would cost about Shillings 2.4 billion.
Currently, the contractor has completed constructing the carriage way and desilted and repaired drainage system. They are continuing with fixing the walkway and beautifying the road by planting flowers and grass on roadsides close to walk ways. According to the contractor, ongoing repairs have a life span of at least 10 years.
As works continue, Queensway has also been listed as one of the roads to be constructed under funding by the African Development Bank – ADB.
KCCA wants parliament to approve funding of 179 billion from ADB to increase the capacity of existing roads through upgrading so that traffic congestion can be reduced, improve mobility and reduce the cost of doing business in the City. Kitaka says there will be minimal distraction of the existing works when the ADB project start.
According to KCCA, Queensway comes second after Jinja road in carrying the heaviest traffic in Kampala. A traffic study by Abubaker indicates that over 500,000 vehicles use the road daily.
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