Uganda’s government embarks on million dollar project to decongest Kampala roads
The traffic in Kampala is heavy, and it gets worse during rush hour.
Designed during the colonial era more than five decades ago, this is Kampala road, the city’s main street.
Most of the city’s roads were designed when its population was below 500,000
Today there are over 3million people living here, and counting
“We realize that not only are our roads inadequate, we are misusing them, and most of the misuse comes from our encroachment of the road reserve, that is why pedestrians are spilling onto the carriageway and narrowing it down for the cars.” Said Mark Ssali – Head, Public and Corporate Affairs, UNRA
City Authorities have had to come up with hard decisions…
Privately owned structures built on road reserves are being demolished to make way for wider roads
Some people have already been affected by these changes.
So far, a number of roads have been expanded with improved designs
Some are under construction with others in the pipeline
Most of the new roads are aimed at diverting traffic from the city centre
And the strategy is paying off already in some areas
This financial year, Uganda has allocated more than $1 billion to improve its road network.
Some of this money is to be borrowed from partners like China and the European Union.
