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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) is set to tarmac 19.85 kilometres of roads under the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area Urban Development Program (GKMA-UDP). Tarmacing the roads will cost 176.5 billion Shillings
While officiating at the signing ceremony of Batch One of the contracts under the GKMA-UDP project at City Hall on Tuesday, the Lord Mayor of Kampala, Erias Lukwago, says that Kampala faces a challenge with a large number of roads that are in bad condition and not motorable.
He that out of the 2,104 kilometres of roads, only 770.5 kilometres are tarmacked, making up 37%, while 1,333.5 kilometres, or 63%, are in a poor state.
Lukwago added that out of the 770.5 kilometres of tarmacked roads in Kampala, only 273.2 kilometres are in good and motorable condition, 149.2 kilometres are in fair condition, and 348.1 kilometres are in very poor condition.
The contract was awarded to China Railway, Starling, Multiplex, Build Trust Construction Limited, and Build Truct Construction.
Lukwago urged the contractors to treat the project with high importance.
In the first phase of the project, the consultancy department will receive 13.3 billion.
Sharifah Buzeki, the KCCA Executive Director, emphasized that the project is results-oriented. He told the contractors that financing is dependent on performance.
Buzeki also urged the technical team to ensure that the work is completed within 18 months as per the terms of the contracts.
Kabuye Kyofatoganye, the State Minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs, urged local contractors like Multiplex to step up their performance to improve their chances of acquiring similar opportunities in the future.
The GKMA-UDP is funded by the World Bank and the French Development Agency.
The GKMA-UDP started in 2017 after a World Bank report recommended shifting the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) from merely a regulatory body to an active enabler of economic growth and development. The report also indicated that the World Bank would not be financing the authority independently but would be financing the greater Kampala metropolitan area as a whole.
KCCA began putting in place bankable projects, with the GKMA-UDP being the first project.
This project involves working on roads connecting Kampala to the neighbouring districts, improving the environment, and creating jobs, which includes working on markets.
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