A parliamentary report has found that Ugandans will pay to use the proposed Busega-Mpigi expressway.
Though the road toll is not bad, the report dated December 6, 2016, written by the committee on national economy says there was no study to assess the toll’s viability. Syda Bbumba heads the committee.
“The committee observed that it is proposed to toll the road in order to supplement the operation and maintenance costs yet the study to assess the willingness of road users’ to pay and how much has not been concluded,” said the report.
The project will be implemented over a period of three years beginning 2018. The total cost of the road is $192m (Shs 694bn) and will be financed by the African Development Bank (ADB), African Development Fund (ADF) and the government.
ADB will contribute $91m (47.34%) of the total project costs. It will have added 23.7km of super highway, with four grade separated interchanges, the report said.
Other roads set to be tolled include the soon-to-be completed Kampala-Entebbe expressway and the proposed Kampala-Jinja expressway.
KIBUYE-BUSEGA
MPs said the operation and functionality of the Busega-Mpigi expressway is dependent on the availability of the Kibuye-Busega section. The two roads must be finished at the same time, said the report.
“The committee recognizes that the Kibuye-Busega section should be fast-tracked to ensure that the two road sections are completed at the same time to derive the benefits of the highway and derive the benefit to decongest the city,” added the report.
The MPs have, however, given government a go-ahead to borrow the money for the project.
amwesigwa@observer.ug