By Catherine Apolot
The Kampala Flyover project is going to be launched on Wednesday, Watchdog Uganda has learnt.
The project, to be executed in phases will start at Clock Tower in Kampala through Kibuli, Nsambya Traffic Lights and connect to Mukwano Roundabout in the first phase.
The second phase will connect through Kitgum House, Garden City and Jinja Road and is estimated to cost Shs700b.
According to sources, the flyover is intended to decongest the city by separating ‘through-traffic’ from the ‘city-street-traffic’. This project focuses on traffic entering the city, mainly from Entebbe along the old Kampala-Entebbe Road and from Mpigi, along the Kampala-Mpigi Expressway.
Traffic from these routes, destined to Lugogo, Nakawa and points along the Kampala-Jinja Highway will find this new route faster and more user-friendly, reducing travel times and leading to less carbon emissions from exhaust fumes installed traffic on the city streets.
In 2010, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) commissioned a study which was updated in 2013 and 2014 to examine available options for alleviating chronic traffic jams in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.
Government accepted the recommendation of the study and through the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), engaged Nippon Koei in a joint venture with Eighth Japan Engineering Company (EJEC) and Infra Consulting Services Limited (ICS) to carry out a detailed design and tender assistance of the flyover Project.
