African Development Bank
The KJE project will reduce travel times and boost trade between Uganda and its neighbours. Credit: Alexis Mette / Unsplash.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed a $229.5m financing agreement with the Ugandan Government for the first phase of a motorway project.

The Kampala-Jinja Expressway (KJE) Project covers the Kampala-Jinja Mainline Expressway and the Kampala Southern Urban Bypass (KSB).

The works will be implemented in two sections. The first section is an urban motorway, including the KSB (18km) and 35km of the main motorway from Kampala to Namagunga.

The second section includes a rural motorway spanning 42km from Namagunga to Jinja.

Once completed, the project will reduce travel times and boost trade along an arterial road linking Uganda with its neighbours.

Uganda Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Matia Kasaija said: “Phase One of the KJE Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Project would improve travel flow, reducing travel time between Jinja and Kampala along the northern corridor linking Uganda to Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Kenya.”

The KJE project is expected to create at least 1,500 direct jobs in the construction phase as well as 250 jobs once operational.

Its proposed concession period is 30 years, including an eight-year construction period.

Under the government’s Buy Uganda Build Uganda (BUBU) policy, at least 30% of subcontracting will be awarded to local companies.

The project’s financing is part of the AfDB’s Ten-Year Strategy (2013-2022) for Africa.

The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) is the executing agency for the project. It has begun procuring a private concessionaire on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) basis under the Availability Payment PPP model.

AfDB Uganda country manager Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan said: “The PPP model will bring in private sector participation and financing of a key infrastructure in Uganda. It will yield a significant economic return for the country, with an estimated net revenue of $2.1bn over the 30-year concession period.”

The AfDB is Uganda’s second largest multilateral donor, contributing 20% of the country’s development assistance in the areas of roads, energy, agriculture, education, health and sanitation.