Very many areas of Kampala city are currently undergoing major infrastructural development changes as Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) seeks to solve the transport and drainage problem as part of the roads improvement and reconstruction programme.
ERNEST JJINGO traversed several areas of the city and through interviews and observations; authorities have their work cut out by the limited resources. On February 23, The Observer tweeted about the traffic mess on Tufnell drive near its offices.
The poor state of the road was compounded by a drainage spillage that was leaving many motorists with vehicle damages. The following morning, KCCA swung in action with a fleet of graders and compactors to start repair works. After cutting the old asphalt, the KCCA team filled the holes with gravel.
Before they left the scene, The Observer asked one of the KCCA workers why they had not done a complete overhaul of the road, to which he admitted that the authority is short of resources to fulfill the task.
"We are simultaneously working on hundreds of poor roads and drainage throughout the city but we can only do one phase at a time," he said.
"We plan to return to Tufnell in a few days to apply primer before we can seal the surface with new asphalt."
This testimony has been echoed in various places that The Observer visited and highlights the immense challenges the authority faces to live up to the expectations of city dwellers.
CASE FOR OPTIMISM
A move around Kampala's major suburbs provides an air of hope if KCCA fulfills the infrastructural plans. The repairs and extensions KCCA is currently undertaking are part of the second Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project (KIIDP2) and seeks to reconstruct and widen city roads, upgrade gravel roads to tarmac, designing and constructing drainage channels, converting roads into dual carriage and signalizing junctions.
Under this second batch, there are currently five roads which are undergoing upgrading and upon completion, several junctions on these roads will also be signalized with traffic lights. These roads include John Babiiha road (popularly known as Acacia avenue), Nakawa-Ntinda road, Kulambiro ring road, Kabuusu-Bunamwaya-Lweza road and Lukuli road.
The roads which cover a total of about 25km are being constructed by two contractors; Sterling Civil Engineering Company and China State Civil Engineering Company Limited and are expected to cost about Shs 262 million.
Construction on these roads started in May 2019 and according to Eng David Luyimbazi, the KCCA deputy executive director, the 1.4km Acacia avenue has been widened to provide for four lanes with six signalized junctions at Golf course club, Kabojja junior school, Lower and Upper Kololo terrace, Mobua road and Kira road junctions.
The Kulambiro ring road, which stretches to 4.8km includes the Najjeera link, has been widened to accomodate two lanes and one junction whereas the Nakawa-Ntinda stretch which is 2.8km will also have four lanes and four signalized junctions at Semawata road, Martyrs way, Ntinda II and Bukoto-Ntinda road junctions.
Lukuli road in Makindye division, which is about 7.7km, has been widened into four lanes and is going to have one junction at Kayembe road while the 8km Kabuusu-Bunamwaya-Lweza road is going to be widened into two lanes and will have two signalized junctions at Kabusu-Masaka road and Lweza-Entebbe road junctions.
All these are going to have traffic signalized junctions, pedestrian walkways, closed drainage channels, marked lanes and solar street lights and the work on them is expected to be completed by June this year.
KAMPALA FLYOVER PROJECT
Works on the first phase of the Kampala Flyover Project began in May 2019 at Queen's Way (Clock Tower) with the second phase on Jinja road starting soon.
The flyover is going to be at the Clock Tower junction and Jinja road-Kampala road junction (Kitgum house) with roads running from Queen's Way (Entebbe road) over Mukwano road to Jinja road with a spur at Yusuf Lule road ending beyond the cemetery along Jinja road.
There are going to be three extensions or branch ways from the main project road; 220m Yusuf Lule extension from Kitgum house junction towards Yusuf Lule road up to Garden City area, 200m Clock Tower extension from Clock Tower junction towards Shoprite along Ben Kiwanuka road and the 550m Nsambya extension from Nsambya junction towards Ggaba road up to Nsambya hospital junction.
Currently, on the Clock Tower flyover which is going to be half a kilometer long, excavation works on the four-lane underpass along Nsambya and Mukwano roads have been completed and construction is underway and screw piles for the construction foundation of the flyover and pedestrian bridges are being put up.
Widening of Nsambya road and Mukwano road to dual carriageway including improvements of interfacing roads and junctions as part of the project is also underway. Signalized junctions along this route like Nsambya-Ggaba road, Entebbe-Queen's Way, Jinja-Yusuf Lule road and Nsambya-Queen's way junctions are also going to be upgraded.
As a way to create space for the flyover at Clock Tower along Queen's Way on Entebbe road, the historical Clock Tower monument was demolished in August last year in order to pave way for the construction of a 3.51km circular foot bridge.
The 66-year-old Clock Tower was one of the most iconic monuments in Kampala city which was set up in 1954 to commemorate the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and the road stretch to Kibuye roundabout was also named Queen's Way.
According to Daniel NuweAbine, the KCCA spokesperson, a new Clock Tower structure in the same design as the old one is going to be constructed just nearby next to the Pan African square and given its own free space surrounded by a garden.
"A new Clock Tower is going to be built and once it is completed, it is going to even look better due to the modern infrastructural developments that are going to be employed," he said.
Another ground which is going to be affected by the flyover project is one of Kampala's biggest recreation spots, Centenary Park along Jinja road and Wampeewo avenue. In October last year, the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) was given 2.5 acres of the park's land to pave way for the flyover while Nalongo Estates Ltd, the developer of the park, took the remaining 2.5 acres.
However, Luyimbazi says KCCA is still going to have an open public space at Centenary park with green spaces, park benches, cycle lanes and walkways which will all be able accessible by the public. The Centenary monument at the park is also going to be preserved.
The six-foot monument of a treadmill protected by shields was unveiled in 2000 as part of its centenary celebrations to signify progress and is also featured on the Shs 20,000 note.
TRANSPORT SYSTEM
In May last year, KCCA started renovation works on the Old Taxi park. Although the work was expected to be completed in three months, limitation of funds delayed the process but according to NuweAbine, the park will be ready on March 4.
According to the renovation plan, the carpet area of the park has been reconstructed, 15 shelters where passengers can sit or stand while waiting for taxis are going to be installed, pavements, walkways and embankments are going to be reconstructed and beautified and a drainage system put up on Burton and Ben Kiwanuka streets.
The park is also going to have two entry points for taxis and one exit along Ben Kiwanuka Street, five designated entry points from Burton Street and along the Non-motorized Transport Corridor on Wilson road. Solar lights are also going to be installed in the park and renovation of three buildings there to accommodate a KCCA office and a public toilet block for the park.
"We are going to install an Access Control System for security purposes in the park because we had discovered that it had become a haven for illegal activities. Therefore, we do not want to open it again where it is being run by goons or informal organizations whom we don't have control over. Access will be controlled and only permitted people will be allowed to go into the park to do business of moving people and goods, not hawking," Luyimbazi said.
He further noted that the authority is also soon going to start implementing a Smart Parking System in the city and move away from the analogue system that is currently running whereby a person will be able to know which parking space is available in town depending on their location by simply using their smartphones through an app which will be launched soon.
The system is also expected to increase transparency of tax revenue collected from street parking. In order to increase transport efficiency in the city, KCCA is going to introduce the bus rapid transit system and has already signed a memorandum of understating with Metro bus service which is going to fabricate buses in Uganda and it has been given an exclusive franchise to operate on four routes in Kampala.
The first 25km route for the buses will be from Bwaise to Kireka, from Kireka to Zana and from Zana to Bwaise and it will have five stations. The buses are expected to be 18 meters long with a capacity to carry 150 passengers and these will have dedicated lanes which will not be used by other vehicles so that they do not get stuck in traffic.
"The buses are expected to be on the roads in one and half years from now. However with Covid-19 pandemic, we may see and extension to that because it has reduced the bus occupancy which means that the recovery period for the investor will be longer. We also want to first finish revamping the roads where these buses are going to move on," Luyimbazi said.
STREET VENDORS
Street vendors have taken over Kampala streets again and these freely sell their merchandise as KCCA which would normally send its enforcement team to chase them off looks on. The Non-Motorized Transport route from Namirembe road up to Luwum street to Entebbe road which is meant for only pedestrians is one area vendors have turned into a market.
Eng. Luyimbazi says that enforcements to remove the vendors off the streets had stopped because of the political season which made it difficult to implement the enforcement actions. However, Nuwe-Abine says that the days of these vendors on the streets are numbered, having gotten a presidential directive in September last year instructing KCCA to reacquire all markets in the city.
"We have been sensitizing street vendors on the alternative spaces they can go to and very soon, we are going to start enforcement to have them go to those designated places. We are also in advanced stages of coming up with designated streets for evening markets after 5pm. There is also an option of Sunday market around areas of Luwum street," NuweAbine said.
Whether KCCA will have the capacity to enforce the measure remains to be seen but what is without doubt is that the authority seems to be punching above its weight in its pursuit to transform the city.
KCCA FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS
Other roads lined up for rehabilitation and construction include Old Port Bell/Spring road, Sir Apollo Kaggwa road, Portbell road, Salaama road, Kasubi-Northern Bypass, Sentema road, Old Mubende road, Fifth street, Sixth street, Seventh street and Eighth street in Industrial Area, Kyebando ring road II, Lubiri Ring road and Bombo road, among others.
Luyimbazi also says that KCCA is undertaking a Shs 84 billion project with a grant from the Japanese International Cooperation (JICA) which is going to a traffic control centre constructed at KCCA headquarters to help in controlling traffic flow in the city and other 32 road junctions in the city signalized.
Other junctions to be signalized include Port Bell road junction, Kabalagala junction, Hanlon-Nsambya junction, Kasubi-Northern Bypass, Bulange junction, Albert Cook road junction, Kubbiri roundabout, Mulago roundabout, Sheraton roundabout, Bukoto-Ntinda-Magambo road, Salaama-Entebbe road junction, Kibuye-Busega-Mutundwe road junction and Kawempe Tula-Mpererwe road junction among others, whose work is expected to begin in July this year.
KCCA is also in plans of installing 15,000-20,000 street lights in Kampala with 500 on grid and 10,000 operating on solar energy. The lights will be intended to light slums, markets, zebra crossings, routes taken by vulnerable people to their workplaces and also improve on security situation in the city during the night.
"Without lighting at night, working hours are reduced because it is unsafe for people to go their workplace and work safely. We are going to increase our street lighting coverage to about 60 per cent of the mostly paved road network and slums because 40 per cent of our people live in informal settlements. Therefore, we need to support by increasing on the hours they work in order to improve on their general income," Luyimbazi said.
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