Bank finds another €217m for Uganda and Rwanda’s delayed roads project

The new funding will cover expanded works on the 27.3km Busega–Mpigi Expressway, including new interchanges, bridges, toll plazas and service lanes, as well as land compensation and project management support. The total cost of the Ugandan section has now risen to €424.6 million, up from the original €176.3 million, which the AfDB said reflected the scaled-up scope of the project.

The construction contract, awarded in 2019 to a Chinese consortium led by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway 19th Bureau Group, was initially expected to be completed by 2022. However, progress was slowed by Covid-19 disruptions, compensation disputes and swampy terrain. By early 2022, only 15% of the work had been finished, and the completion date was pushed to 2025, then 2027. Full completion of the project is now expected in 2030.

According to the AfDB, the extra financing will enable the inclusion of seven new bridges and 54km of lined drainage channels. Construction under the revised plan is expected to restart in early 2026.

“This project is more than a road; it is a lifeline for communities and a gateway for trade,” said George Makajuma, the Bank’s principal transport engineer.

Once completed, the expressway is expected to cut travel time between Busega and Mpigi from over two hours to less than 45 minutes and create more than 1,200 jobs during construction and operation.