Boost for Ugandan transport

The World Bank has approved a US$ 190 million International Development Association (IDA) credit to improve the transport sector in Uganda.

The country's Transport Sector Development Project (TSDP) has also been awarded an US$ 8 million grant from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID). The two tranches of funding will support the Ugandan government's Transport Sector Master Plan over the next four years.

The TSDP is aimed at improving the condition of the national road network and increasing capacity for road safety and transport sector management. The project will see the upgrade to a paved surface of some 160 km of gravel roads between Gulu and Atiak and from Vurra to Oraba via Arua.

"Uganda's road transport infrastructure serves as a transit corridor to the sea linking the landlocked countries of Rwanda, Burundi, Southern Sudan and eastern parts of the Democratic republic of Congo," said Dieter Schelling, the lead transport specialist and task team leader for TSDP.

"We want this project to reduce average transport costs and travel times, give better access for the rural population and reduce the number of fatalities from road accidents," he said.