Uganda: Government confirms to start SGR project in 2022

The construction of the awaited Standard Guage Railway (SGR) is expected to in 2022, said the government of Uganda, according to a report by Daily Monitor.

The major transport link which will reportedly connect Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda, is said to be completed in 2023, the government said.

As per reports, the construction was delayed due to planning failure and financial challenges by Kenya in the stretch towards Uganda.

Speaking in a media brief earlier on Tuesday, Perez Wamburu, the SGR project coordinator said that a total of 4,050 had been compensated out of 4,827 projects, affecting the people of district Namutumba, Tororo, Mayuge, and Iganga.

He added, that this has provided the government with 120 kilometers of land in Tororo via Mayuge out of 230 kilometers of the entire corridor. Stating, “this is a massive effort despite underlying challenges and current the economic squeeze occasioned by Covid-19".

The project is said to be designed to equip worldwide transport competitiveness for passengers and the freight, specifically to reduce transportation time from Kampala to Mombasa, reducing it to 1 day instead of 4 to 6 days.

Wamburu also added that the link will cut transportation costs by 40 per cent and will boost business in the region. It will also attract foreign investments creating job opportunities in the economic strata of the country he said.

It is expected to produce around 150,000 direct and indirect jobs while construction, as per the report.