Uganda to collect Entebbe Expressway toll fees for 18 years

The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has revealed that the government will continue collecting toll fees on Entebbe Expressway for more than 18 years until it completes the payment of the US$476million (Shs1.853 trillion) loan acquired from Exim Bank of China to construct this road.

Appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) on Tuesday, Isaac Wani, the Director of Network Planning and Engineering at UNRA, said while the money has to be paid within 13 years, the breakeven because of the optimum that they determined will go up to 18 years.

“So the Ministry of Finance has to complete that payment and then the breakeven to recoup the investment, will take us up to 18 years and thereafter, we will be collecting additional revenue to finance road maintenance activities including on maintenance of this road,” said Wani.

This followed a question raised by COSASE chairperson Medard Lubega Sseggona (Busiro East, NUP) who asked UNRA to explain the formula used to arrive at the charge of Shs5,000. UNRA was responding to queries raised in the December 2023 Auditor General’s report.

The Kampala-Entebbe Expressway (KEE) is a four-lane toll expressway linking Entebbe International Airport to Kampala the country’s capital city. The 51km road, one of the country’s most expensive, was built using a $350 million loan from Exim Bank of China.

On 24th May, 2021, UNRA handed over the expressway to Egis Road Operation to operate and maintain the expressway. Egis operates the toll collection system. Motorists on the road are required to pay between Ush5,000 ($1.4) and Ush18,000 ($5) depending on the size of their vehicle.

Uganda has a master plan to reduce motor vehicle traffic within the capital Kampala by constructing expressways leading out of the city but its execution has been hindered by lack of finances.

Currently, the country is constructing the Busega-Mpigi expressway and the procurement process of the Kampala- Jinja expressway, a major link to Kenya, is underway.

Sseggona also asked UNRA to explain the logic behind closing two lanes at the Entebbe Expressway whenever President Museveni is using the road, which ends up inconveniencing roads users who pay for the road, yet the President doesn’t pay toll fees when using the expressway.

“When the President thinks of leaving his home to Kampala, you mean you have no mechanism of knowing when to close the road? He doesn’t pay in the first place, now you inconvenience people who pay and that isn’t to say that the President is less important.

I personally appreciate the value of the President’s security that is why I have no quarrel with lining up his soldiers along the entire route, but the President is using one lane, you close even the next one, does it make sense to you whether economic or social sense? Instead, it endangers his security because somehow, he is going to be entangled with people who have been locked up in a particular area and congested,” said Sseggona.

In response, Ms Allen Kagina, the Executive Director of UNRA said: “We can work together with security to respond but it isn’t abnormal that when the President is going to a location that his security is present in advance to secure his passage. Some questions I can’t answer but what we are working on is that the time when that road is closed is reduced.”

The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) also revealed that the contract for the construction of Masaka-Mutukula Road will be signed this week following the approval of the contract by the Solicitor General.

“The rehabilitation of Masaka-Mutukula Road was cleared I think last week by the Solicitor General, we are due to sign the contract this week, we should see works begin in about a month or so. The cause of the delay was basically funding,” said Kagina.

In December 2023, Parliament approved a pre-financing arrangement for the reconstruction of Masaka-Mutukula Road (89.5Km) and rehabilitation of Nyendo-Villa Maria Road (11Km), upgrading of 3.5Km access road to the UPDF barracks in Masaka, 3.5Km access road to Masaka Industrial Park & additional scope of 28.5Km for Kikagati-Kafunjo Road at a cost of UGX 691.680Bn.

According to Ministry of Finance, a Chinese firm, Chongqing International Construction Corporation (CICO) would undertake these works and Gov’t would be required to pay back the money within 2years of the implementation of the project.