AfDB approves Ugandan PPP loan

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a loan to finance a road PPP in Uganda.

The AfDB board gave the go-ahead for a $229.5m sovereign loan to partially finance the Kampala-Jinja Expressway PPP.

With an estimated value of $1.55bn, the project has also received financial commitments from the French Development Agency and the European Union for a total amount of $400m, including the AfDB contribution. UNRA received responses from eight teams in early September.

The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) issued a request for qualifications earlier this year to design, build, finance, operate, maintain and transfer the project under a 30-year contract, with an estimated investment of $800m.

A spokesperson for the authority’s advisor, the International Finance Corporation, told Partnerships Bulletin a shortlist “is firmly set for end of the year.”

The project consists of a limited access tolled expressway along the Northern Corridor between the cities of Kampala and Jinja.

Under the plans, the PPP will deliver a 35km section of expressway from Kampala to Namagunga and an 18km bypass south of Kampala, and works on a 41km section from Namagunga to Jinja.