UNRA halts road works between Mityana and Mubende | Monitor

The construction of the Mityana-Mubende road has been temporarily suspended due to financial reasons.

The Sh395 billion project, which began in April 2021, was scheduled to be completed two months ago but is currently 50 percent complete.

The work was carried out by Energoprojekt Niskogradnja, a Serbian civil engineering and construction company.

In an interview on Wednesday, Allan Sempebwa, acting spokesperson for the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra), said: “The contractor has not abandoned the project as some are claiming. The challenge we faced was largely due to liquidity constraints and this has affected work progress and productivity.”

He added: “However, we will resume the project soon and focus in particular on improving the road surface, drainage and all other aspects of the project.”

Mr Ssempebwa did not give a specific date for the resumption of work, nor did he reveal how much money is currently needed to complete the project.

However, he said the contractor is trying to ensure it addresses the safety component on the road, including dust suppression.

“There is a lot of traffic on this road and even the dust control measures may not have much effect due to the heavy traffic and the current hot weather. So the contractor will spray water every hour to solve the problem,” he said.

Mr Ssempebwa called for caution when using the road.

A visit to the project site on Tuesday revealed that no visible construction work is taking place and that the contractor has parked some of its equipment in the Kakungube Swamp in Kassanda District.

Mr Ashraf Nkanja, a resident of Kakungube Trading Centre, said that when it is windy, the dust affects the visibility of motorists, leading to accidents.

“Our people are dying every day in the Kakungube swamp. Three school children have been killed by speeding cars in the last three days,” he said.

Mr Antony Ntomaga, a security officer who guards road construction equipment in Kakungube Swamp, said most accidents happened between 10pm and 11pm, when motorists could hardly see road signs on the bridge under construction.

“Our lives are also in danger as we guard the equipment and we are now sleeping in the excavator. Once I was almost hit by a speeding truck after the driver lost control of the vehicle. I pray that the road work will resume and we will get out of here,” he said.

President Museveni performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the project on January 6, 2021 during an election campaign in Mityana.

The 86 km long road will be upgraded to a Class II asphalt road, with asphalt concrete pavement on both carriageways.

The road will also have a carriageway width of 3.5 m and two lanes in the major towns of Mityana, Naama and Mubende.