The Government of Uganda is set to construct the first logistics hub at the Gulu Railway station after securing funds.
The logistics hub at the Gulu Railway station will target the markets in South Sudan through Alegu and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through West Nile. South Sudan and DRC are Uganda’s largest export markets.
The Director of Transport in the Ministry of Works and Transport, Mr. Benon Kajuna said that the hub will be constructed on at least 24 acres which will be provided by the government.
He further pointed out that the project will cost a whopping US$8.6m US$5.6m is available with funding from DFID and TradeMark East Africa. It will be a Private-Public Partnership (PPP), with some private sector players expected to come on board.
“In October 2016, we completed a pre-feasibility study for the project, with designs expected at the end of this year. At present, a consultant is working on the proposed design for the project and construction works is expected to commence by end 2018,” he told delegates attending the Joint Oil and Gas and Logistics Expo 2017 at Kampala Serena Hotel Conference Centre recently.
Gulu is one of the four areas designated in Uganda where there is a planned logistics hub. It is expected to serve the two export markets for Ugandan goods but also for re-exports destined for DRC and South Sudan.
To add on that, Mr. Mark Pearson, a consultant with TradeMark East Africa, that construction will not only require logistics services but will also promote logistics services in Uganda. He said that Uganda could even reach the markets as far as the Central African Republic if the hub is commercially viable.
“There is an opportunity for Uganda here if it targets the Eastern DRC market and South Sudan. For South Sudan, it will need almost total reconstruction so will need to import large volumes of food, construction material, and capital equipment,” he said at the expo.
Trade between South Sudan – without war – and DRC is nearly estimated at $1.3b.
A logistics hub is a designated area used by various operators that deals with activities related to transportation, organisation, separation, coordination and distribution of goods for national and international transit, on a commercial basis.
