TANAKA Akihiko

JICA President Akihiko Tanaka and Matia Kasaija, Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development shake hands after signing. Behinds from left are Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Uganda, Junzo Fujita, Ambassador of the Republic of Uganda to Japan, Betty Grace Akech-Okullo, Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.

On September 11, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a loan agreement with the Government of the Republic of Uganda to provide a Japanese ODA loan of up to a total of 19.989 billion yen for the Kampala Flyover Construction and Road Upgrading Project.

This project will build flyovers at major junctions that are particularly congested, improve junctions, and widen existing road to improve and promote urban transportation in the center of Kampala, the capital of Uganda, with the objective of improving the flow of goods and stimulating the economy in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area. The funds from this loan will be allocated to civil works, including for the flyovers, junction improvements and road widening, and consulting services.

A landlocked country in East Africa, Uganda is at a key position for logistics in East Africa as the relay location for the North Corridor, which connects the Port of Mombasa in Kenya and inland areas including Rwanda, the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. Kampala, which is adjacent to the North Corridor, has a population of approximately 1.78 million people (2013) and is the center of the economy of Uganda. In recent years, the increase in traffic volume accompanying the rapid rise in population and economic growth has resulted in serious traffic congestion at major junctions on roads, impacting economic growth in Uganda.

In the “National Development Plan II” for fiscal years 2015–2019 formulated in June 2015, the Government of Uganda plans to increase the quantity and quality of strategic infrastructure to improve competitiveness, and transportation infrastructure is one of the prioritized areas. JICA has provided grant aid over the years to improve the roads and junctions in Kampala, as well as carrying out other work such as the Project for Improvement of Trunk Roads in Kampala (Exchange of Notes (E/N) signed in fiscal year 1998), the Project for Improvement of Trunk Roads in Kampala, Phase II (E/N signed in fiscal year 2003), the Project for the Improvement of Traffic Flow in Kampala City, Phase I (E/N signed in fiscal year 2005), and the Project for the Improvement of Traffic Flow in Kampala City, Phase II (E/N signed in fiscal year 2006). In addition, starting this year, JICA has been carrying out the Project for Improvement of Systematic Junction Management in Kampala City, technical cooperation, to provide technical support for formulating standard designs that will improve intersections for better transportation and for maintaining and operating traffic signals. Building on such experiences, JICA will continue to provide effective support toward economic growth in Uganda.

Reference

1. Terms and Amount of Loan

2. Executing Agency
Uganda National Roads Authority
Address: Plot 5, Lourdel Road, P O Box 28487, Kampala, Uganda
Phone: +256-312-233100/+256-414-318000
Fax: +256-312-233100/+256-414-347616

3. Planned Implementation Schedule
(1) Completion of project: December 2019 – when the facilities are put into service
(2) Issuing of letters of invitation for consulting services (including supervision): To be determined
(3) Expected time of tender announcement of initial procurement package for international competitive bidding on project construction: February 2016