New $350m China-funded road in Uganda starts July

KAMPALA - Construction of a $350-million Chinese-funded toll road linking Uganda's only international airport and its capital Kampala will start in July after delays over a design review and land acquisition, a government official said on Friday.

Uganda, east Africa's third largest economy, has projected its economy would expand by 5.4 percent in the 2012/13 (July-June) fiscal year, from an estimated 5 percent this fiscal year, boosted by increased spending on infrastructure.  

China has funded the construction of several transportation and communications infrastructure and gleaming public offices in Uganda, including a $93 million state house villa built in 2007 as part of its investment on the African continent.

One of the conditions for the loan by China's Export-Import Bank to build the 50-km road was that the contractor had to be Chinese, but critics say the non-competitive sourcing of the contractor would lead to inefficiencies.

Dan Alinange, spokesperson for the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), said although the price tag was high, this was justified by the quality of the road. He said Uganda could not avoid the of conditionalities linked to the project.

"Yes, it's an expensive road but it will be a superhighway with world-class features and that costs money plus the cost compares well with what the likes of Kenya are paying," he said.

In neighbouring Kenya, the government of east Africa's largest economy has been conducting its most ambitious infrastructure investment programme ever, entailing the construction of new roads.

Local firms have missed out on the lucrative contracts, and critics there too have complained that most contracts have gone to firms from China, but the government says the Chinese have won the contracts due to their superior road-building abilities.  

Alinange said the new modern highway connecting Entebbe and Kampala would take 36 months, and when completed would relieve the existing road overwhelmed by rising traffic of people and goods as Uganda's economy has expanded over the years.