The Minister of Works and Transport Hon. Katumba Wamala on the 24^th of June officiated at thehandover ceremony to the new Minister’s of State.

Hon Peter Lokeris, Minister of State for Works and Hon. Joy Kabatsi, Minister of State for Transport handed over office to Hon. Musa Ecweru and Hon. Fred Byamukama respectively.

Hon. Katumba welcomed the new State Ministers, taking a moment to thank God for sparing his life in the gruesome assignation attempt that took the lives of his daughter and driver.

He thanked the outgoing Ministers for the good work they had done at the Ministry during their term. Hon. Katumba expressed great confidence in the incoming Ministers citing their achievements in their previous assignments.

Hon. Musa Ecweru, the new State Minister for Works has previously served as a Resident District Commissioner in the Districts of Soroti, Lira, Gulu, Nebbi, and Kasese. Since joining elective politics, he has been a member of parliament for Amuria county and previously served as a State Minister for Relief and Disaster Preparedness since June 2006.

Hon. Fred Byamukama, State Minister for Transport on the other hand served in the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) at the rank of lieutenant with the specialized unit under the chieftaincy of Medical Services for 7 years before joining elective politics and becoming the member of Parliament for Bugangaizi.

• How do we apply for travel Permits?

Entities can apply for permits by sending an email to Ministry of Works and Transport at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The entity should attach a scanned copy of its headed paper with full address (Contacts and physical address).

The Ministry will then send login credentials to successful applicants to login and enter the essential workers details on an online form.

The Ministry shall approve or reject the application and entity shall download the clearance from the website https://clearance.works.go.ug

• Do I need a Travel Permit to travel to the Airport on the date of my flight?

Travel to the airport on the date of travel is allowed as long as you have the Airline Ticket and passport to be used as evidence of travel.

NB. The ticket is only valid on the actual date of travel.

• Can I get a travel permit if I am not in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area?

The travel Permits that are being issued by the Ministry only apply in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area. The District Taskforces are responsible for travel within the Districts through the RDCs and RCCS.

• Does the travel permit allow me to travel across Districts?

The travel permits do not allow one to travel across Districts. For inter-district travel one can write directly to the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Works and Transport stating the reason for need to travel, the vehicle registration numbers, the persons to travel and duration needed.

• Can an individual essential worker apply for a travel permit?

In reference to the President’s directive of 10% staff, we therefore greatly encourage entities to apply on behalf of their staff.

Individual applications from companies will not be worked upon.

• Can the permits be used on Boda Bodas?

The President’s directive clearly stated that Boda Bodas are only allowed to carry cargo and not passengers.  Also note, that the guidelines issued are meant to as much as possible discourage contact between person to person.

• What about in cases of emergency?

Emergencies situations can apply through the online system for special permission from the Ministry.

In cases of emergencies that require immediate, E.g pregnant women and people with chronic illness, such people are advised to move with their original documents and a recommendation from the LC1 Chairman. The District Health Officer or the RDC/RCC.

A person may also approach the nearest referral medical personnel to obtain permission to travel in case of a medical emergency.

• How does one verify the authenticity of the permit issued?

Verification can be done via SMS; Send an SMS of the vehicle registration number (UAB777S) to 6120 at zero cost.

The SMS request shall return the vehicle details, its validity and entity.

This project involves paving the courtyard for the Central Materials, with M/s. Multiplex as the contractor. The JMM Team learnt that this contract had two (2) assignments, i.e.

• Upgrading of access road to Busoga College Mwiri in Jinja; and
• Paving the Central Materials Laboratory courtyard.

Project details

The bridge is in Atiak sub-county Amuru District, about 91 km from Gulu town along Gulu-Nimule Highway. The Contractor for the construction of Gem Farm Bridge is M/s. Marvel Contractors and Road Maintenance Ltd.

The proposed bridge lies across river Unyama connecting the sugar factory to the out growers. It is a single span compact bridge of 30.48 m supported on two abutments.

Scope of work

The scope of work consists of widening and gravelling the approach roads; concrete works for abutment walls; protection works to the structure and embankment; gabion and stone pitching works; ancillaries including guardrails and market posts, testing of materials and workmanship; river training and Bailey Bridge Installation, which was done with the help of MoWT team.

Progress of works

• Substructures activities were concluded in May 2019, a cutting period of 28 days was set aside for the abutments to attain maximum strength.
• The Installation process took 21 days and was concluded on the 26th June 2019, subsequently, the contractor, commenced approach road and protection works, an activity on going to date.
• Current percentage progress of key activities and the weighted physical progress of works; Current physical Progress is 91% against a time lapse of 96%.
• The contractor has so far been paid UGX 1.2 Bn representing 61% of the financial performance against the revised Contract amount.
• There was a time extension of 150 days due to logistical challenges and the increased water levels in the river in the rainy season;
• There was also a cost variation was given because of additional work from the designed typical reinforced concrete bridge to the Mabey standard.

Project details

The bridge is in Atiak sub-county Amuru District, about 91 km from Gulu town along Gulu-Nimule Highway. The Contractor for the construction of Gem Farm Bridge is M/s. Marvel Contractors and Road Maintenance Ltd.

The proposed bridge lies across river Unyama connecting the sugar factory to the out growers. It is a single span compact bridge of 30.48 m supported on two abutments.

Scope of work

The scope of work consists of widening and gravelling the approach roads; concrete works for abutment walls; protection works to the structure and embankment; gabion and stone pitching works; ancillaries including guardrails and market posts, testing of materials and workmanship; river training and Bailey Bridge Installation, which was done with the help of MoWT team.

Progress of works

• Substructures activities were concluded in May 2019, a cutting period of 28 days was set aside for the abutments to attain maximum strength.
• The Installation process took 21 days and was concluded on the 26th June 2019, subsequently, the contractor, commenced approach road and protection works, an activity on going to date.
• Current percentage progress of key activities and the weighted physical progress of works; Current physical Progress is 91% against a time lapse of 96%.
• The contractor has so far been paid UGX 1.2 Bn representing 61% of the financial performance against the revised Contract amount.
• There was a time extension of 150 days due to logistical challenges and the increased water levels in the river in the rainy season;
• There was also a cost variation was given because of additional work from the designed typical reinforced concrete bridge to the Mabey standard.

Project details

The Government of Uganda procured Road Construction equipment from Japan basing on the success the Japanese equipment have had in the country over the years. The Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT) procured and distributed different types and models of road construction equipment manufactured from Japan to all 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.

The beneficiary institutions do use and manage the daily maintenance of the equipment while MoWT supervises and monitors the overall usage, routine maintenance and servicing of the road equipment as per the Memorandum of Understanding signed between MoWT and beneficiary institutions.

Nakaseke District Local Government received equipment between July 2017 and February 2018. A Wheel Loader, Vibro Rollers, Water Bowser, 2 (two) Dump Trucks and a Grader were among the equipment delivered.

The Local Government also possesses Chinese Equipment; a Supervision Vehicle, a Motorcycle, a Dump Truck and a Grader

Project information

This is a company that is heavily investing in infrastructure to transport oil from the Port of Kisumu to Entebbe in Uganda. Kisumu is linked with an oil pipeline from Mombasa, which means there will be a reduction in the use of roads to transport fuel from Kenya to Uganda when this project is operationalized. Mahathi Infra (U) Ltd. will not be involved in the sale of oil, but its core objective is just to transport the oil from Kenya to Uganda.

Present Fuel Transport System

Presently, petroleum products like Diesel, Gasoline, Kerosene and Jet A1 are transported by Road from Kisumu/Eldoret in Kenya. The associated issues with this system are:

• It is expensive
• Leads to traffic congestion
• Creates pollution

The issues above will in turn lead to serious problems, which include:

• Accidents, calling for Road Safety issues
• Damaging of roads, which calls for frequent road repairs
• Adulteration of the fuel
• Uncertainty in the supplies, among others.

Transport System on Lake Victoria

• Transport fuels on Lake Victoria from Kisumu to Kampala using Oil Tanker ships;
• Store the fuels in huge tanks at our Terminal and load in trucks for supply/distribution in Uganda and to neighboring countries;
• A Jetty is already built in Kisumu-Kenya for loading the oil tankers.

The benefits to this system of transportation are:

• Cheaper than road transport.
• Road congestion reduced.
• Adulteration reduced.
• Reduced pollution.
• Reliability in supplies.
• Has reversibility, i.e. can transport back from Uganda when refinery production starts in Uganda.
• Direct employment to local persons in Kenya and Uganda.
• Indirect Employment to many due to development of ancillary industries
• Skill development of local persons in marine and mechanical sectors.

Project Infrastructure – Storage Terminal

• There will be a total 14 Storage Tanks.
• 4 products will be transported, i.e. AGO, PMS, IK, and Jet A1.
• There will be 20 Truck Loading Bays.
• Automated Operations with Smart cards and TAS
• 250 M Jetty for Berthing Oil Tankers.
• There will be pipelines connecting Jetty and Tanks.
• An automated Fire Fighting System to be put in place.
• Storage Capacity will be 70,000,000 Liters, i.e.
• 3 Tanks of Diesel, each with 9,000,000 L capacity;
• 3 Tanks of Gasoline, each with 9,000,000 L capacity;
• 4 Tanks of Jet A1, each with 2,000,000 L capacity;
• 4 Tanks of Kerosene, each with 2,000,000 L capacity.

Project Infrastructure – Jetty

• A 250 meters long Jetty is being constructed at Bugiri-Bukasa site for Berthing of Oil Tanker barges.
• There will be individual pipelines for all products from Jetty to the tanks.
• Effective minimum draft of 4 meters.
• Unloading time – 8hrs.
• At 10 nautical miles speed, the estimated transit time – 16hrs.

Project Infrastructure – Oil Tanker Barges

• Construction of the Oil Tanker Barges is taking place at Bugiri-Bukasa site;
• There will be four Self-Propelling Oil Tanker Barges, each measuring 118 M long by 23 M wide;
• Each tanker capacity will be 4,400,000 liters (Estimated at about 150 Road trucks);
• Green concept in ship building (zero pollution) is being adopted;
• Modern navigation methods shall be adopted;
• Draft needed – 2.5 meters (Depth).

• Project overview

Tongole Suspension cable Foot Bridge spans 75m across river Manafwa in Manafwa district, and was completed in February 2019 and it was officially commissioned. The project cost (50% counterpart funding by the MoWT) was UGX 166 Million. The bridge serves approximately 4,500 nearby residents. About 3 deaths and 20 injuries occurred resulting from crossing attempts in the last 3 years before the construction of this cable foot bridge.

• Project overview

Kibembe Suspension Cable Foot Bridge spans 75m across river Sironko in Sironko District which was completed on 28^th June 2018. Project cost (50% counterpart funding by the MoWT) was UGX 172 Million. The bridge is scheduled to be commissioned in the first week of October 2019. The bridge serves approximately 1,800 nearby residents. About 3 deaths and 15 injuries occurred resulting from crossing attempts in the last 3 years before the bridge was constructed.

Project details

Development of Kabaale /Hoima International Airport in Hoima, Uganda is being undertaken by SBC (Uganda) Ltd, a joint venture of SBI International Holdings AG and Colas, UK.  The Project is financed 85% by UK Export Finance (UKEF) and 15% by Commercial Source-Standard Chartered bank. The value of the Contract is €309,100,256 of which €264,077,144 is for Construction.

Scope of works

The project consists of the following scope of works

• Runway 3,500 m length, 45 m width with shoulders of 15 m each side
• Platform of 75,000 m2 ready to receive 4 Antonov’s 124 or Boeing 747-8
• Cargo terminal
• Airport Rescue and Firefighting Building
• Accommodation block with 30 double two-bedroom houses and 6 single three bedroom houses
• Fuel farm
• Airport Ground Lights
• Mobile Air Traffic Control Tower
• Access roads and parking
• Power and Water Supply

Progress

The actual physical progress of works is 27.65% complete against the planned progress of works 27.3%. The period of time elapsed stands at 26.6%. Overall completion of current project activities is 27.65% (Financial) as of July 2019.

Current status

Other on-going activities include:

• Quarry – Pit Preparation, Drilling, Blasting and Crushing
• Drainage, Erosion & Effluent control structures in Main Site & Quarry & Construction Zone
• Health & Safety and Environment & Social Monitoring of Project and Project footprint area.