Overview:
Works at Kabalega International Airport in the Albertine region. While the runway and cargo facilities have taken shape, the sh185b passenger terminal needed to handle AFCON 2027 traffic remains on the drawing board over a funding shortfall.
The planned passenger terminal at Kabalega International Airport — the gateway through which teams, officials and fans are expected to enter the Albertine region for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations — has yet to break ground, with the project held up at the pre-contract stage as the Government scrambles to close a financing shortfall.
Sports state minister Peter Ogwang revealed the holdup while updating Parliament on Thursday on Uganda’s AFCON 2027 preparations. He said sh185b has been earmarked for the terminal, but the contract has not been awarded and financing to bridge the remaining gap is still awaiting confirmation.
The delay is significant because the airport sits at the heart of the tournament’s logistics for Hoima, one of Uganda’s designated host cities. Without a functioning passenger terminal, the region’s ability to receive the anticipated influx of national teams, match officials, delegates of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and travelling supporters would be severely constrained.
There was movement, however, on the accommodation front around the same airport. Ogwang told the House, chaired by Jacob Marksons Oboth, that a new hotel is planned near Kabalega to absorb tournament traffic, and that several developers have expressed interest, with evaluation of bids expected to begin.
The minister paired the airport update with news of a sh101b package for the wider hospitality sector. The money, he said, will be channelled through the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) as a special credit facility, allowing shortlisted hotel owners in Hoima and Masindi to borrow affordably for renovation and expansion works needed to meet CAF’s accommodation standards.
“In preparation for AFCON 2027, government, in consultation with CAF, has shortlisted prospective hotel owners whose facilities will be upgraded to meet the required accommodation standards,” Ogwang said.
“The funding will facilitate renovation works and provide interest rate support through the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) for approved service providers,” he added.
Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja convened hotel owners and UDB officials to settle the timelines and working arrangements for the credit scheme.
Elsewhere, the preparations appear further along. The UPDF Engineering Brigade is upgrading Hoima Regional Referral Hospital, Masindi Municipal Hospital and Kiryandongo Health Centre III to handle intensive care and emergency cases during the tournament. Railway infrastructure serving Kampala, Mukono, Namanve and Namboole is under rehabilitation, including new passenger boarding and drop-off stations and refurbished locomotives to move fans on match days. Wi-Fi and CCTV installation is ongoing at Mandela National Stadium, Hoima City Stadium, Akii-Bua Stadium, training facilities, selected hospitals, transmission sites and CAF-accredited hotels.
Even so, legislators pressed the minister on gaps in delivery and coordination. Leader of Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi asked him to explain the criteria used to pick the hotels benefiting from the sh101b facility, pointing out that they are privately owned businesses. Hoima West MP Ismail Kasule said local leaders were being sidelined, noting that while the roads to be upgraded in Kampala and Wakiso had been clearly listed, there was no such clarity for Hoima itself. Nansana Municipality MP Zambali Bulasio Mukasa urged the Government to ensure no AFCON project slips its deadline, and Oboth reminded parliamentary committees that they need no permission from the House to inspect government projects.
Ogwang assured the House that the Government remains committed to delivering all the required infrastructure within the agreed timelines and pledged to bring local leaders more closely into implementation.
Uganda will co-host the 2027 tournament with Kenya and Tanzania under the East African Pamoja bid, the first joint staging of Africa’s premier football competition by the three neighbours. With the clock running toward kickoff, the unresolved financing for the Kabalega terminal stands out as one of the most consequential items still on the Government’s to-do list.