Overview:

Uganda breaks ground on a €9.9M, climate-resilient market at Elegu. Funded by the EU and Denmark, the project will benefit 5,000 households and protect traders from floods.

Elegu, Uganda — Uganda has launched the construction of a new 9.9 million euro (about 41 billion shillings) cross-border market in the town of Elegu, a strategic trade hub on the border with South Sudan. The project, which broke ground today, aims to address persistent issues of flooding, poor sanitation and inadequate infrastructure that have long affected traders in the area.

The initiative is a joint effort funded by the European Union and Denmark under the Global Gateway strategy. TradeMark Africa will implement the project in collaboration with the Ugandan government. It is expected to benefit more than 5,000 households that rely on cross-border trade.

Elegu is Uganda’s third-largest informal export corridor. In 2022, over 1.3 million metric tons of goods, valued at 189 million euros (786 billion shillings), were traded there. However, the market’s vulnerability to annual flooding has caused business closures, financial losses and public health crises.

Women, who make up 63% of informal cross-border traders at the market, and people with disabilities have been disproportionately affected by these challenges, facing caregiving responsibilities and physical accessibility limitations.

First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga hailed the project as a “symbol of resilience, inclusion, and transformation.”

“This partnership with European Union and the Embassy of Denmark, under Global Gateway, and TradeMark Africa, demonstrates what can be achieved when development is both collaborative and visionary,” Kadaga said. “Uganda is proud to lead the way with a border market that meets the realities of climate change while supporting our national and regional trade goals.”

The new market will be built on elevated ground to protect it from floods. It will feature climate-resilient infrastructure such as enhanced drainage, permeable paving, stormwater retention basins and green energy solutions, including solar power and water harvesting.

Facilities will include 1,500 vendor sheds, a restaurant, a daycare center, modern sanitation blocks, a banking facility and a grain storage facility. A new 450-meter access road will also be constructed to connect the market to the Gulu–Atiak–Nimule highway, improving transport logistics and reducing post-harvest losses.

Project planners anticipate these improvements will boost participation by women and people with disabilities by 30% and increase women’s income by an estimated 15% to 25%.

Micheal Lakony, the LC V of Amuru District, expressed his gratitude, stating that the project is a “commitment to change” and a promise that no trader will have to choose between “safety and survival.”

Sanne Willems, Head of Green Transition and Private Sector for the EU Delegation to Uganda, said the initiative is part of a broader strategy to show how “climate adaptation, gender inclusion, and trade development can go hand in hand.”

The Ambassador of Denmark to Uganda, Signe Winding Albjerg, noted that the market is “designed to promote inclusive and climate-resilient infrastructure for cross border traders” and reflects Denmark’s commitment to “green and inclusive growth.”

Allen Asiimwe, Deputy CEO of TradeMark Africa, said the market “embodies our core mission” of increasing sustainable and inclusive intra-African trade by enabling “economic opportunity and dignity for thousands of informal traders, particularly women and vulnerable groups.”

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by officials from the EU Delegation to Uganda, the Royal Danish Embassy in Kampala, TradeMark Africa, and local leaders and trader representatives from Amuru District.