Transport in Uganda refers to the transportation structure in Uganda. The country has an extensive network of paved and unpaved roads.
As of 2017, according to the Uganda Ministry of Works and Transport, Uganda had about 130,000 kilometres (80,778 mi) of roads, with approximately 5,300 kilometres (3,293 mi) (4 percent) paved. [1] Most paved roads radiate from Kampala, the country's capital and largest city. [2]
The Lagos-Mombasa Highway, part of the Trans-Africa Highway and aiming to link East Africa and West Africa, passes through Uganda. This is complete only eastwards from the Uganda–DR Congo border to Mombasa, linking the African Great Lakes region to the sea. In East Africa, this roadway is part of the Northern Corridor. [3] [4]
It cannot be used to reach West Africa because the route westwards across DR Congo to Bangui in the Central African Republic (CAR) is impassable after the Second Congo War and requires reconstruction. An alternative route (not part of the Trans-African network) to Bangui based on gravel roads and earth roads runs from Gulu in northern Uganda via Nimule and Juba, South Sudan and Obo in south-east CAR. This is used by trucks but sections are impassable after rain.[ citation needed ]
The route has been closed at times during war and conflict in northern Uganda (the Lord's Resistance Army rebellion) and South Sudan, but up to July 2007 had not been affected by the Darfur conflict and was the only usable road between East and West Africa. The security situation should be checked with authorities in northern Uganda, South Sudan and south-eastern CAR before use. [5]
As of 2017, Uganda's railway network measures about 1,250 kilometres (777 mi) in length. Of this, about 56% (700 kilometres (435 mi)), is operational. All existing railway is metre gauge. A new standard gauge rail network is planned.
A railroad originating at Mombasa on the Indian Ocean connects with Tororo, where it branches westward to Jinja, Kampala, and Kasese and northward to Mbale, Soroti, Lira, Gulu, and Pakwach. The only railway line still operating, however, is the Malaba–Kampala line. [1]
Kenya: Yes; same gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
South Sudan: Proposed; break of gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)/1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Democratic Republic of the Congo: No; break of gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)/1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Rwanda: No; Does not yet have railways
Tanzania: No direct connection except via train ferry; same gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)The six countries of the East African Community are in the process of constructing railway lines with 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge tracks. Kenya had, by June 2018, completed the construction of the Mombasa–Nairobi section of its Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), which cost US$4.47 billion (original budget was US$3.2 billion), borrowed from the Exim Bank of China. [8] [9] The country now plans to extend he SGR line to Nakuru, Kisumu and Malaba, when funds become available. [10]
Uganda plans to construct a total of four SGR lines, totaling 1,547 kilometres (961 mi), at an estimated cost of US$12.6 billion. [11] [12] Uganda's SGR is planned to link it to four neighboring countries, including Kenya, Rwanda, DR Congo and South Sudan. [13]
Between 2006 and 2017, a company known as Rift Valley Railways (RVRC) managed the Kenya Railways Corporation's and the Uganda Railways Corporation's 1,000 mm (3 ft 3⅜ in) metre gauge railway systems, under a 25-year concession. [14] [15]
In August 2017, the government of Kenya terminated the RVRC concession, citing failure by RVRC to perform as stipulated in the concession agreement. [16] In October 2017, Uganda followed suit, [17] but RVRC ran to court to stop the termination. [18] [19] In February 2018, Uganda Railways Corporation finally took possession of the concession assets and resumed operating the metre-gauge railway system in Uganda. [20] [21]
Lake Victoria is the principal waterway with commercial traffic. In conjunction with train services, the railway companies of Uganda and Tanzania operate train ferries on the lake between railhead ports of the two countries and Kenya. These ferries load rail coaches and wagons. Jinja and Port Bell, on a 7 kilometres (4 mi) branch line from Kampala, are the railheads for Uganda, connecting to Mwanza, Tanzania and Kisumu, Kenya. [22] [23]
The Port Bell ferry wharf is visible on high-resolution Google Earth photos at latitude 0.2885° longitude 32.653°. [24] Other ferries serve non-railhead ports on the lake. [25] There are dry dock facilities at Port Bell (Luzira), which were under renewed use as of June 2018. [26] [27] [28]
A new inland port, Bukasa Inland Port is under development on the northern shores of Lake Victoria, at Bukasa, in Wakiso District, about 20 kilometres (12 mi), by road, south-east of the central business district of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. [29] When completed the inland port is designed to handle up to 5.2 million tonnes of freight annually. [30] The port will facilitate movement of goods from the Tanzanian ports of Dar es Salaam and Tanga, via rail to the port of Mwanza on Lake Victoria. Barges would then bring the cargo over the lake to Bukasa. This would reduce Uganda's near-total dependence on the port of Mombasa, Kenya. [31]
Lake Kyoga and the Victoria Nile south of the lake constitute the second most important commercial waterway. There used to be a steamboat service between Namasagali, a railhead port on the Nile, going as far as Masindi-Port on the other side of Lake Kyoga.[ citation needed ] Other waterways such as Lake Albert, Lake George, Lake Edward, and the Albert Nile do not carry commercial traffic to any great extent.
Entebbe International Airport is Uganda's largest and busiest airport, servicing in excess of 1.5 million arrivals annually, as of 2015. [32] In February 2015, the Government of Uganda began a three-phase expansion and upgrade of Entebbe Airport planned to last from 2015 until 2035. [33] [34] [35]
In January 2018, SBC Uganda Limited, a joint venture company between Colas Limited of the United Kingdom and SBI International Holdings of Uganda, started construction of Kabaale International Airport in Hoima District. [36] [37] The first phase of construction, including the runway and cargo-handling facilities, is expected to be ready in 2020. This phase is primarily to support construction of the Uganda Oil Refinery. [38] [39] The second phase of construction, focused on the facilitation of passengers and boosting tourism and business, is expected to conclude in 2022. [38] [39]
As of June 2018, according to the CIA Factbook, Uganda had 47 airports, five of which had paved runways, namely Entebbe Airport, Gulu Airport, Soroti Airport, Nakasongola Airport and Jinja Airport.
There are a number of systems of transport in Burundi, including road and water-based infrastructure, the latter of which makes use of Lake Tanganyika. Furthermore, there are also some airports in Burundi.
Transport in Kenya refers to the transportation structure in Kenya. The country has an extensive network of paved and unpaved roads.
Port Bell is a small industrial centre in the greater metropolitan Kampala area, in Uganda. Port Bell has a rail link and a railroad ferry wharf used for International traffic across Lake Victoria to Tanzania and Kenya.
The Uganda Railway was a metre-gauge railway system and former British state-owned railway company. The line linked the interiors of Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya. After a series of mergers and splits, the line is now in the hands of the Kenya Railways Corporation and the Uganda Railways Corporation.
Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), also Kenya Railways (KR) is the national railway of Kenya. Established in 1977, KR is a state corporation.
The Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) is the parastatal railway of Uganda. It was formed after the breakup of the East African Railways Corporation (EARC) in 1977 when it took over the Ugandan part of the East African railways.
Rail transport in Kenya consists of a metre-gauge network and a new standard-gauge railway (SGR). Both railways connect Kenya's main port city of Mombasa to the interior, running through the national capital of Nairobi. The metre-gauge network runs to the Ugandan border, and the Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, financed by a Chinese loan, reaches Suswa.
The Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA) is an intergovernmental body, encompassing six countries in Eastern Africa, tasked with the job of coordinating transport infrastructure improvements.
Railway stations in Uganda include:
The East African Railway Master Plan is a proposal for rejuvenating the railways serving Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda and adding railways to serve Rwanda and Burundi. The objective is to further the economic development of eastern Africa by increasing the efficiency and speed, and lowering the cost, of transporting cargo between major ports on the Indian Ocean coast and the interior.
South Sudan does not have an extensive rail system. Current rail infrastructure, which was constructed between 1959–1962, and was left over from the previous Sudan government is in a serious state of disrepair. It consists of a 248 kilometers (154 mi) narrow-gauge, single-track line that connects Babonosa (Sudan) with the city of Wau in South Sudan. The line was left in poor condition after the Second Sudanese Civil War after several parts of it were mined; the line was fully rehabilitated with United Nations funds.
The Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway is a standard-gauge railway (SGR) in Kenya that connects the large Indian Ocean city of Mombasa with Nairobi, the country's capital and largest city. This SGR runs parallel to the narrow-gauge Uganda Railway that was completed in 1901 under British colonial rule. The East African Railway Master Plan provides for the Mombasa–Nairobi SGR to link with other SGRs being built in the East African Community.
Hoima International Airport, also Kabaale International Airport, is an airport under construction in Uganda. It is part of the infrastructure under construction as Uganda prepares to develop its nascent petroleum industry. When completed, it would be Uganda's second international airport, besides Entebbe International Airport. The new airport is expected to facilitate mobilization of equipment for construction of the Uganda Oil Refinery and assist in the development of agriculture and tourism in Uganda's Western Region.
Bukasa Inland Port is a planned inland port in Uganda.
The Uganda Standard Gauge Railway is a planned railway system linking the country to the neighboring countries of Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, as part of East African Railway Master Plan. The new Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), is intended to replace the old, inefficient metre-gauge railway system.
The Nairobi–Malaba Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is a standard-gauge railway that connects Kenya's capital city of Nairobi to Malaba, at the international border with Uganda. The Nairobi–Malaba SGR is expected to connect to other standard gauge railways in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, under the East African Railway Master Plan.
The Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway is a railway system, under construction, linking the country to the neighbouring countries of Rwanda and Uganda, and through these two, to Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as part of East African Railway Master Plan. The new Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), is intended to replace the old, inefficient metre-gauge railway system.
The Kenya Standard Gauge Railway is a railway system that will connect Kenyan cities, and link the country to the neighboring country of Uganda, and through Uganda, to South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. There are also plans to link to Addis Ababa, in neighboring Ethiopia to the north. The first segment, between Mombasa and Nairobi, opened passenger rail service in June 2017, and freight rail service in January 2018. Other segments are under construction or planned. The new Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), is intended to replace the old, inefficient metre-gauge railway system.
The Rwanda Standard Gauge Railway is a railway system, under development, linking the country to the neighboring countries of Tanzania and Uganda. The system is expected to link, in the future, to Rwanda's two other neighbors, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as part of East African Railway Master Plan. Through Uganda, the SGR will allow faster access to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, Rwanda's primary access to the oceans. With no previously existing railway network, Rwanda is developing its railway system from scratch.
Mahathi Fuel Transport and Storage Depot is a privately-owned inland, lakeside fuel transport and storage depot under construction in Uganda. When completed, gasoline, kerosene, diesel-fuel and Jet A1 will be delivered by ship from Kisumu, across the lake in neighboring Kenya. The fuel will be stored here and conveyed by truck to final destinations in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, significantly cutting down delivery times and transport costs.
This article incorporates public domain material from World Factbook. CIA.
