Entebbe–Kampala Expressway

Route information
Length 32 mi (51 km)
History Designated in 2012
Completion in 2018[1]
Major junctions
South end Entebbe International Airport
  Abayita Ababiri
Kajjansi
North end Busega

The Entebbe–Kampala Expressway, also known as the "Kampala–Entebbe Expressway" or the "Entebbe–Kampala Highway", is a four-lane toll highway in the Central Region of Uganda.[2] The highway links Entebbe International Airport, the country's largest civilian and military airport, to Kampala, the country's capital and largest metropolitan area. Commissioning was originally planned for 2016 but because of the delayed works, commissioning was done on 15 June 2018 by Uganda's sitting President, Yoweri Museveni.[3]

Location

The highway starts at Entebbe International Airport and continues to Mpala, go through Akright City, Kajjansi, and Kabojja, and end at Busega, where it joins the Kampala Northern Bypass Highway, a distance of approximately 37.23 kilometres (23 mi). A spur branches off the highway at Kajjansi to connect to Munyonyo, a suburb of Kampala, located on the northern shores of Lake Victoria, a distance of about 14.13 kilometres (9 mi). The entire highway is a four-lane, dual carriage expressway, with limited access.[4] The coordinates of the expressway at Abayita Ababiri are 0°05'25.0"N, 32°29'35.0"E (Latitude:0.090278; Longitude:32.493056).[5]

Overview

The previously existing surface road, known as the Kampala–Entebbe Road, or simply Entebbe Road, is narrow, congested, and poorly suited to handle the heavy traffic traversing it.[6] The new expressway is a toll-road, with vehicles that use it needing electronic billing devices.[7]

History

In 2009, the government of Uganda (GOU) began consultations with the government of the People's Republic of China regarding the construction of a four-lane (dual-carriage) highway connecting Entebbe and Kampala. In November 2010, the two governments signed an agreement where the Chinese government, through the Exim Bank of China, would lend up to US$350 million for the construction of the highway, repayable over forty years.[8] The contract was awarded to China Communication Construction Company, which also constructed the Soroti-Lira Road.[9] Construction began in 2012.[10]

Construction costs

In 2012, the expressway was estimated to cost US$476 million (UGX:1.19 trillion).[11] Of this, US$350 million (UGX:875 billion) is a loan from the Exim Bank of China at 2 percent annual interest.[11] The remaining US$126 million (UGX:315 billion) was provided by the GOU.[11] GOU has already, or will provide in the future, another UGX:123 billion to compensate land owners along the expressway route.[12]

Developments

On 21 November 2012, the president of Uganda commissioned the beginning of construction of the highway at a ceremony at Kyengera, along the Kampala-Masaka road.[13] The EastAfrican reported in August 2017 that completion was scheduled for May 2018.[14] The Daily Monitor made a similar report in November 2017.[15] The completed road was commissioned on Friday 15 June 2018.[16][17]

The completed road will have to wait for the installation of toll-paying technology at the payment booths and the passage of the law authoring the building and use of toll roads.[3] A new completion date has been put at 16 November 2018.[18] However, the expressway is open to the public, effective 15 June 2018.[19]

Points of interest

The following points of interest lie close or near the Entebbe–Kampala Expressway:[20] (1) the town of Entebbe in Wakiso District (2) the settlement of Abayita Ababiri in Wakiso District (3) the community of Akright City in Wakiso District (4) settlement of Kabojja in Wakiso District (5) neighborhood of Busega in Lubaga Division in the city of Kampala, where the highway will join the Kampala Northern Bypass Highway (6) neighborhood of Kajjansi in Wakiso District, where an arm of the highway will branch off to Munyonyo, on the northern shores of Lake Victoria (7) the suburb of Munyonyo in Makindye Division, in Kampala, where an arm of the highway will end.[20]

See also

Photos and diagrams

References

  1. ↑ Vision Reporter (15 June 2018). "Entebbe Express Highway Breathes Life". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  2. ↑ Edris Kiggundu (5 April 2015). "Entebbe-Kampala Highway: What Is Done So Far". The Observer (Uganda). Kampala. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 Ampurire, Paul (16 June 2018). "Museveni, China's Wang Yang Commission Uganda's First Ever Expressway". Kampala: Soft Power Uganda. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  4. ↑ Vision Reporter (10 May 2014). "Kampala-Entebbe Highway on Track, Chinese Want to Build Railway Line". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Google (3 July 2015). "Location of Entebbe-Kampala Expressway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Nkurunziza, Andrew (10 September 2010). "Entebbe Road is a national Embarrassment". Daily Monitor Mobile. Kampala. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Muhwezi, Naboth (31 March 2014). "Entebbe-Kampala Expressway: Ugandans could get a better deal". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  8. ↑ Ojambo, Fred (10 November 2009). "China to Build, Manage Toll Road in Ugandan Capital". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  9. ↑ Kafeero, Stephen (4 August 2012). "Planned Entebbe Highway Sparks Housing Boom". The Independent (Uganda). Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  10. ↑ Ogwang, Joel (19 June 2014). "Private company to manage Kampala- Entebbe expressway". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 Kafeero, Stephen (4 August 2012). "Planned Entebbe highway sparks housing boom". The Independent. Kampala. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  12. ↑ Kiggundu, Edris (5 April 2015). "Entebbe–Kampala Highway: What is done so far". The Observer (Uganda). Kampala. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  13. ↑ Bwambale, Taddeo (22 November 2012). "Museveni Commissions Kampala-Entebbe Road". New Vision. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  14. ↑ Olingo, Allan (23 August 2017). "Sense of urgency as EA region upgrades its roads, airports". The EastAfrican. Nairobi. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  15. ↑ Adengo, Jonathan (30 November 2017). "Kampala-Entebbe Expressway to reduce travel time by 300%". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  16. ↑ Lyu Tianran, Zhang Gaiping and Ronald Ssekandi (15 June 2018). "Feature: Chinese-built expressway speeding up traffic to Uganda's gateway". Beijing: Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  17. ↑ Uganda Dispatch Staff (8 June 2018). "Entebbe Expressway to be commissioned next week". Kampala: Uganda Dispatch. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  18. ↑ Musisi, Frederic (17 June 2018). "Museveni Launches Entebbe Expressway". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  19. ↑ Tamale, Raymond (23 June 2018). "Why Ugandans are excited about the new highway". The EastAfrican. Nairobi. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  20. 1 2 Leni, Xanthia (13 June 2018). "After 72 months, Kampala–Entebbe Expressway launches Friday". Kampala: PML Daily. Retrieved 15 June 2018.

Coordinates: 00°05′25″N 32°29′35″E / 0.09028°N 32.49306°E / 0.09028; 32.49306

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