Delayed land acquisition hampers Uganda’s road projects

KAMPALA, August 25, 2026 — The implementation of several road projects across Uganda under the Ministry of Works and Transport has stalled due to challenges in land acquisition and inadequate counterpart funding.

According to the ministry’s Undersecretary for Finance and Administration, Barbara Mugambe, both land acquisition and counterpart funding require substantial resources, prompting the ministry to separate borrowing for civil works from funding for land acquisition.

She commended Parliament for approving loans for transport infrastructure projects but noted that the ministry does not have adequate resources to cater for all projects.

“Government has moved to change that trajectory, which is why we are borrowing money for civil works as well as money for land acquisition under the 127-kilometre Jinja-Mbulamuti-Kamuli-Mukungu road and 10km of Jinja City roads. This will help us to address shortages in land acquisition,” Mugambe said.

She made the remarks during an interface with Members of Parliament [MPs] on Committee on National Economy, where the ministry presented a report on the status of externally funded projects.

The report indicated that several projects, including the 23.7km Busega-Mpigi Expressway, the 191km Rwenkunye-Apac-Lira-Puranga road and the improvement of 11.45km of national roads in refugee-hosting areas of the West Nile sub-region, had been affected by delays in land acquisition arising from inadequate budget allocations and ownership disputes.

For the 92km Kampala-Jinja Expressway Project, only 4,519 of the 16,000 project-affected persons [PAPs] have been compensated, at a cost of Shs 502.9 billion.

“Out of the outstanding balance, the ministry has been provided with Shs 338bln for the Financial Year 2026/2027,” the report reads in part.

The report also indicated that implementation of the €50 million Bukasa Port Development Project is being affected by project-affected persons who have refused to vacate the area until they are provided with land for resettlement, as promised by President Yoweri Museveni in 2023.

Committee Chairperson Jane Avur said continued delays in transport infrastructure projects were putting pressure on their financing.

“Why do the technocrats in the ministry push for projects for financing when you know that the critical things that should be prioritised have not been done? Why do you want to get finances first and then work backwards?” Avur asked.

David Okwere, the Bukedea County legislator, raised concerns over 13 road projects that have been abandoned, adding that some completed roads do not last for their projected lifespan.

“We have discovered that many roads are being damaged by heavy cargo trailers. The Ministry of Works established weighbridges and I want to know whether they are working or not. How well do you supervise the implementation of these projects?” Okwere asked.

Gulu City Woman Representative Betty Aol urged the ministry to promote the Buy Uganda Build Uganda [BUBU] policy.

“When are we going to start involving local contractors in some of these projects and build their capacity?” Aol asked.

Eng. Isaac Wani, the Commissioner in charge of National Roads, explained that design reviews also affect project timelines, noting that they are often undertaken between completion of a project design and the acquisition of funds for construction.

“For example, the design for the Nebbi-Goli road was completed in 2019, but funds came in 2025, which means we spent six years looking for funds for construction. If a design is delayed for five years, it will have to be updated because characteristics such as traffic usage will have changed over time,” Wani said.

He added that externally funded projects are implemented in accordance with development partners’ procurement guidelines, which do not always support the BUBU policy. Local contractors, he said, are instead hired under government-funded projects.

On concerns over abandoned projects, Wani explained that most of them had been inherited from the former Uganda National Roads Authority [UNRA] during the rationalisation process that transferred functions to the ministry.

“The Ministry of Works and Transport presented papers to the Ministry of Finance and we managed to secure supplementary funding, so most of these projects have resumed and works are ongoing. The main issue was that contractors had not been paid, but this has since been resolved,” he said.

https://thecooperator.news/legislators-call-for-faster-development-of-strategic-roads-across-uganda/

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