Achievements under development of new Kampala Port in Bukasa where; 233 Project Affected Persons (PAPs) of the project had been compensated by the end of the FY 2020/21.

Under Maritime, the inception report of the Maritime search and Rescue Policy had been development and submitted. Registering and licensing of water vessels and the establishment of the marine training institute were also done.

Railway Transport sector recorded an improvement in operations. The transit days reduced to an average age of 20 days by the end of the FY from 41 days last year while the wagon turnaround days were at an average of 37 days compared to 47 days the previous year.

The Government of Uganda acquired a loan from European Union in addition to the co-funding of GoU to repair the meter Gauge railway from Tororo to Gulu which is expected to improve further its performance. URC is currently carrying out re-sleeping, weeding, bush clearing, stack parking and joint packing. Implementation of the pre-construction activities e.g. acquisition of the Right of way for the SGR continued during the FY, albeit at a slow pace.

The Government continued to undertake major development projects in air transport. The two key projects are the expansion of Entebbe International Airport which was at 75.1% in level overall progress at the end of the FY 2020/21 as compared to 73% in the FY 2019/20. The kabaale Airport in Hoima was at 63.2% level of progress against a target of 72% because of COVID 19.

Other projects were also undertaken at different regional airports. In the financial year aircraft and passenger movement, domestic and international passe3ngers declined due to the closure of the Entebbe International airport as a result of COVID 19. The international passenger movement declined from 1,355,772 passengers in FY 2019/20 tO 580,238 passengers in FY 2020/21.

The Multinational Lake Victoria Maritime Communication and Transport (MLVMCT) project identified maritime safety as one of the major challenges impeding the growth of the maritime industry within Uganda.

Therefore, the Ministry of Works and Transport through the MLVMCT project is making moves to improve maritime safety within Ugandan Waterways through enhancing the Search and Rescue system and establishing reliable weather monitoring systems on major Ugandan lakes including Lakes Victoria, Kyoga and Albert.

To enhance Search and Rescue capabilities, the Ministry of Works and Transport has acquired a Mobile Search and Rescue (SAR) Facility called DELTA 1 and a well-equipped ambulance boat, which will soon be launched and will be able to respond to any major distress incident to save lives.

The Ministry of Works and Transport has also acquired nine weather buoys which will be deployed on major lakes within Uganda to form a weather monitoring network that will give timely and reliable weather information to all Lake User communities to reduce distress incidents due to bad weather.

The Ministry of Works and Transport has launched a National Road Safety Action Plan. The five-year National Road Safety Action Plan has an overall plan of reducing road crash fatalities and injuries by 25% for the period between 2022 - 2026.

The Action plan is a strategic document aligned with the global plan as a guiding tool geared at preventing and reducing 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.

The National Road Safety Plan strategically outlines the aspirations of the Ministry in improving service delivery to the people of Uganda through reducing road crash fatalities and injuries and continued support in ensuring the safety and security on the roads.

The overall purpose of this National Road Safety Action Plan is, therefore, to develop, implement and evaluate actions that will systematically improve the safety of road transport systems in the country over the next five years.

Implementation of the Plan will emphasize a multi-sectoral approach involving all the key stakeholders identified in the mapping exercise. The stakeholders played an invaluable role in the preparation of this Action Plan.

The key stakeholders include; the Parliament of Uganda, Ministry of Health (MoH), the Uganda Police Force (UPF), The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). Civil Society organizations also play and instrumental role, these include; the Safeway Right Way (SWRW) and the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), the Road Safety Advocacy Coalition Uganda (ROSACU) and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).

The Plan outlines key thematic areas of action of implementation in line with the Global Plan for the Decade of Action: Road Safety Management, Safe Road Infrastructure, Vehicle Safety, Safe Road Use and Post-Crash Response. A detailed Activity Implementation Action Plan costing over UGX 645bn has been prepared

The Ministry of works and transport is commencing the construction works for the nine Search and Rescue (SAR) stations on Ugandan major lakes under the Multinational Lake Victoria Maritime Communication and Transport (MLVMCT) Project, including six (6 no.) on Lake Victoria, one (1 no.) on Lake Kyoga and two (2 no.) on Lake Albert.

Kaazi Landing site is located within the Uganda Scouts Association camp at Kaazi, and is one of the six locations on Lake Victoria where a SAR station will be constructed to implement Maritime Search and Rescue.

On 9^th September 2022, a site handover event was held at Kaazi landing site involving officials from Ministry of Works and Transport Lead by the Project Coordinator of the Multinational Lake Victoria Maritime Communication Transport (MLVMCT) Project, Uganda Scouts Association representatives and Directors of CMD Investments Limited (Contractor). 

The Contract is expected to take 18 months till completion. A site meeting was held to begin the event, after which the Ministry of Works and Transport officials together with the representatives of Uganda Scouts Association showed the site boundaries and access route to the contractor, and officially handed over the site to the contractor for commencement of works.

The MLVMCT Project Coordinator emphasized corporation between the contractor and Uganda Scouts Association throughout the construction works, and the Uganda Scouts association representatives pledged to support the contractor where necessary and urged the contractor to work within the set timelines of the project.

The Minister of Works and Transport Hon. Katumba Wamala joined by the Japanese Ambassador to Uganda, H.E Hidemoto Fukuzawa presided over a ceremony to pass out 45 institutional staff Trainers of Trainers.

The batch was trained by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) under the recently approved plant operator trainer curriculum created by the Directorate of Industrial Training. The trainers of trainers have been trained and accredited as part of the proposed first ever Mechanical Engineering Training and Advisory Center- METRAC in Uganda.

The Government of Uganda received a grant from the Government of Japan for the development of the training center to be situated in Luwero. The need for the operator training center was borne out of the necessity to properly operate and maintain the 1,151 units of road equipment acquired by the government of Uganda in 2017 at a cost of USD 155m for the maintenance of the districts roads networks.

An exchange of noted between the government of Japan and UNIDO and later project documentation between UNIDO and The Ministry of Works were signed in 2019 for the commencement of the Project for the Development of the Construction Equipment Operator Training Center.

As part of the METRAC project, 360 government and district local government operators will be trained between January 2023 and December 2023 by UNIDO. Additionally, the project will train 80 young men and women seeking employment in the infrastructure sector.

At the ceremony for the handover of the certificates, Hon. Katumba noted that Uganda faces a major challenge of labour force largely as a result of inappropriate skills and the slow labour absorptive capacity of the economy.

“The METRAC provides a unique opportunity to address a systematic issue of youth unemployment in Uganda, government therefore welcomes the development of an operator training center whose primary objective is to address the youth unemployment problem,” said the Minister.

He also pointed out that the government of Japan has played a crucial role in the infrastructural development of Uganda and requested the Ambassador to convey the nation’s gratitude for the project grant.

H.E Tukuzawa Hidemoto, the Ambassador of Japan to Uganda pointed out that the Government of Japan considers Africa’s potential as the driving force of global growth and human resource development as even more important.

“This project worth 2.34 million started in September 2019 and the aim of the project is to bridge the industrial gap for road equipment operators in Uganda by building the first dedicated Vocational Training Center for the skill, developing a curriculum and training trainers, operators and youth,” Noted the Ambassador.

“With Komatsu as a partner, the project will involve expertise from Japan to establish a new training curriculum and capacity for road construction management and methods,” he added.

The UNIDO Country Representative Mr. Bruno Otto Tokwiny remarked that the occasion of handing over certificates to the Training of Trainers who will train the next generation of engineers in road infrastructure equipment maintenance is a key deliverable of the project.

He concluded by noting that UNIDO is proud to provide its expertise in the implementation of the project.

“We have significant experience in the operation of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programs with particular focus on heavy duty/construction equipment,” noted Mr. Tokwiny.

The Under Secretary, Barbara Namugambe who represented the Permanent Secretary explained that a study conducted by Sumitomo Corporation, the suppliers of the equipment and Komatsu the manufacturers discovered that the causes of frequent early equipment breakdown was a result of the lack of skills by the operators.

It was therefore recommended that an operator training center is set up to ensure efficient operation and skills.

The ground breaking of the construction of the Equipment Operator Training Center is expected to be held in the coming months. The Center will be built on a 10acre piece of land acquired by the Ugandan government in Luwero.

The 19^th Engineers Registration Board was inaugurated by the Minister of Works and Transport Gen. Hon. Katumba Wamala at the Ministry of Works Headquarters.

The Uganda Engineers Registration Board (ERB) was established by the Engineers Registration Act, Cap. 271, 1969. The Act defines the powers and functions of the Board; provides for the registration of engineers; and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The functions of the Board are to regulate and control engineers and their activities within Uganda, and to advise Government in relation to those functions.

The 19^th Board is expected to play a more proactive role towards the social economic transformation of Uganda by guiding the construction industry to prosperity, streamlining the registration of engineers, regulating their practice, and weeding out unqualified and inexperienced engineers from the profession.

The Board must work closely with the Institution of Professional Engineers (UIPE) to mobilise members to work closely with Government and influence policies that pertain to infrastructure development and the construction industry in general, such as advocating for local content. Although Government has already put in place PPDA Regulations and Guidelines to ensure that local content in both labour and materials is catered for under infrastructure development projects, there is still more work to be done.

The new Board comprises of seven members that will serve a two year tenure, of these, there is the Chairman, three members that are in the Uganda Government service and three members nominated by the Uganda Institution of Professional Engineers (UIPE);

The Government of Uganda has added Nyara Bridge in Terego District to its stock of bridge infrastructure after its completion in June this year. The Terego Bridge is of particular importance, considering Uganda’s internationally acclaimed commitment towards hosting people who, unfortunately have gad to become refugees.

The construction of the bridge was funded jointly by the Government of Japan through its development arm; the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Government of Uganda and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) which was the capacity building partner.

The 48m double span composite bridge with a dual carriageway width of 6m and a walkway of 1m on either side was constructed at a project cost of USD 2,466,821.

The civil works were contracted to a local construction firm M/S Dynaco Ltd in line with government policy to promote the local construction industry. Works commenced on 14^th July 2021, and were successfully completed in June 2022.

The bridge provides a link between the Rhino Refugee Settlement Ofua Zone and the Rhino Extension Omugo Zone in Uriama and Omugo sub-county’s respectively. The bridge now provides the host communities, the refugees, humanitarian actors and development partners’ accessibility to each of these zones which would previously require a 54km detour to access basic services such as schools, health centers, markets and humanitarian assistance.

At the time of the inception of the project, the number of refugees was estimated at 134,000 in Rhino Camp Settlement, 23,000 in the Rhino Camp Extension and 67,470 in the host communities.

The Japanese Ambassador, H.E Fukuzawa Hidemoto presided over the handover of the Nyara Bridge to the District local government for maintenance. The Minister of State for Works, was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Bageya Waiswa.

A representative from UNOPS East and Southern Africa, representatives from the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, representatives from Arua and Terego local governments were also present at the handover.  

While addressing the gathering, the Japanese Ambassador noted that this year marked the 60^th year of Japan-Uganda diplomatic relations and that the completion of the Nyara Bridge Construction is a significant milestone in the Japan-Uganda relations and the Japanese journey to enhancing community growth and development for both refugees and host communities.

“Let me emphasize that this Nyara Bridge will contribute to not only a logistical benefit to all stakeholders but also a substantial effect on the humanitarian-development-peace nexus which the government of Japan has forged ahead with. The Nyara Bridge will play a holistic path of local integration and a promotion of peaceful coexistence of refugees and host communities that have important impacts on supply chain and development as functional and direct actors,” remarked the Ambassador.

The Government of Japan has been supporting refugees and host communities through strengthening the self-reliance and resilience of communities and finding durable solutions in line with the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD).

The Nyara Bridge project was therefore aimed at enhancing community growth and development by alleviating extraneous travel time and distance specifically between the refugee settlements and host communities in the Rhino Camp Zone, create connectivity to resources and services and promote peaceful coexistence.

On his part, the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Bageya Waiswa commended the contractor for a well-constructed bridge which is beneficial to the host community and refugees in the area.

“It should be appreciated that this bridge will not only contribute to easing the movement of humanitarian aid but also contribute to pillar 2 of the Parish Development Model; whose goal is to enhance infrastructure development in the communities,” read the remarks.

“Further, as spelt in the NDP III, Government intends to construct more bridges in partial fulfilment of NRM broad objectives of enhancing the wellbeing of all Ugandans; in pursuance of the agenda of inclusive growth, development and social transformation,” he added.

Local leaders present at the handover ceremony stressed that River Nyara has a big catchment area and becomes very ferocious especially at the peak of the rainy season, carrying tree stumps, branches and other vegetation from agricultural activities upstream. This has repeatedly cut off connectivity between Uriama Sub County and Omugo Sub County. It was also reported that attempting to cross the river during such times has resulted in several casualties.

The Permanent Secretary thanked the Government and the people of Japan through JICA for the funds provided to construct the Nyara Bridge.

“Uganda has benefited from many projects funded by the government of Japan through JICA and for this, the country is very grateful especially noting that very many of these have actually been grants,” Mr. Bageya remarked.

He also appreciated UNOPS for working tirelessly throughout the project to ensure the successful implementation of the project.

In addition to the construction of the Nyara Bridge, the project also carried out a technical training session for District Engineers from Arua, Koboko, Madi-Okollo, Maracha and Terego in June 2022 on Bridge inspection, operations and maintenance.

The UNOPS representative Fumie Arimizu, noted that Technical capabilities of operations and maintenance are essential to maintain existing bridges in good condition until the end of their design life span as well as for future bridge construction projects, hence the need for capacity building.

The Commissioner Roads and Bridges,  Eng.Stephen Kitonsa implored Terego District under whose jurisdiction the bridge falls to take good care of the infrastructure from which the community will reap benefits spanning from safe and all weather access to social and economic services/facilities like education, health and trade.

The Government of Uganda procured Road Construction Equipment from Japan and distributed different types and models of road construction equipment to Local Governments (LGs), Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) and Regional Mechanical Workshops (RMWs) of MoWT between 2017 and 2018.

The equipment included among others; Wheel Loaders, Motor Graders, Excavators, Low Beds, Vibro Rollers, Bulldozers, Water Bowsers and Dump Trucks.

In an effort to match the investment in equipment with the necessary human resource, the Ministry through the Department of Mechanical Engineering carries out training of the operators from the various Districts.

A group of 73 operators both male and female have just recently concluded a training at the Bukalasa School of Agriculture. The group underwent a two week both classroom and hands-on site training on the proper use and maintenance of the various equipment.

Qualified, well trained and motivated operators complete works more efficiently, are less likely to damage equipment and ensure the optimization of road construction works.