The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has released a request for proposals (RFP) on its Kampala-Jinja Expressway PPP.
Under the plans, the winning team will deliver over 108km of highway across three sections. The $1.5bn project will help to reduce travel times between Kampala and Jinja by 70 minutes, reducing a major bottleneck for the nation.
The RFP has been released to the four teams that were shortlisted in 2018, featuring major industry names such as Meridian, Vinci, Strabag and the China State Construction Engineering Corporation. Works Permanent Secretary Bageya Waiswa said that the release of the RFP was “long overdue”, admitting that “the majority of our stakeholders have been wondering why we have taken so long to launch the second stage”, citing delays in the process to secure viability gap funding.
Earlier this year the African Development Bank announced that it was supporting the project with a $229m commitment alongside the government’s own $400m capital grant and a €90m loan from the French Development Agency.
Following these commitments, the government is “in a better position to confirm to our shortlisted bidders government’s contribution to the project which demonstrates government’s commitment to the project”, Kagina said.