Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has announced that construction works on the Busega-Mpigi expressway project is expected to begin in November this year; barely two months after the authority awarded the contract to a consortium of Chinese companies.
The UNRA head of corporate communications, Mr. Mark Ssali said that the contractor is now setting up camps, identifying suitable quarry sites and bringing in equipment as well as sourcing materials and organizing labor force.
Also Read: Uganda awards contract for US $146m Mpigi-Busega expressway project
Land acquisition
Mr. Ssali said that the land procurement process is still ongoing and they have so far secured at least 11km of the first section of the demarcated route in Mpigi Town Council heading for Lungala.
“Some of the 754 out of 929 Projected Affected Persons (PAPs) on the demarcated route who have already been compensated have started pulling down their houses to pave way for the project.” he added.
At the moment, houses not below 100 have been demolished in Kalagala, Mawonve, Lufuka, Police Centre, Mpami-Bikondo, Ggala, Maziba-Nkonge and Lungala villages.
For those PAPs who are yet to be paid, Mr. Ssali assured that they will receive their money by the end of this coming December.
Project delays
The proposed four-lane expressway project is one of the road projects that were lined up for construction eight years ago.
It has however been subjected to a couple of hindrances that have been holding it back, including short supply of funds and procurement of a suitable contractor. Last year, there were allegations that the bid documents submitted by the former contractor were not in line with the bidder’s name and where the company is registered.
The Inspector General of Government, Justice Irene Mulyagonja, therefore directed the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) to investigate the procurement process and later PPDA indicated in their report that there had actually been inconsistencies in the bidder’s documents. This led to termination of the contract and appointment of a new contractor.
