The UK Export Finance (UKEF) is lending €270 million to the Uganda government to help finance the construction of a new international airport at Kabaale in Hoima District to boost oil activities in the region.
According to UKEF, the money will help support work on the construction of the runway, taxiway and cargo terminal that will be carried out by UK infrastructure company Colas.
“With huge untapped natural resources, rapid urbanisation and attractive demographics, the requirement for investment in infrastructure to support continued regional development is clear, and this aligns well with the outward-looking international element of the Colas strategy, which seeks to expand our activities in East Africa,” Carl Ferguson, the Director of strategic projects at Colas UK, says.
The Kabaale Airport undertaking is the first major project in Uganda supported by UKEF and the export credit agency’s largest-ever loan to an African government, and additional financing for the project will be provided by Standard Chartered, which acted as the lead arranger for the deal.
Kabaale will be the country’s second international airport and will open access for the delivery of equipment, materials and services for the nascent oil industry.
With large-scale infrastructure and energy projects planned in the area, the airport which is due for completion in 2021, is expected to have significant long-term benefits for the country’s developing economy and energy independence.
A second phase of development is planned to improve the airport’s capacity to support tourism and international trade at a later stage.
