Yapi Mckenzie, a Turkish company, has been selected to construct the much-awaited Standard Gauge Railway.
Revelation was made by the State Minister for Information and National Guidance, Godfrey Kabyanga.
The Standard Gauge Railway project was launched in 2013 and According to Kabyanga, efforts to compensate people who will be affected by the project are underway.
During the presentation of the 2023/2024 budget, the government prioritized the security and transport sectors. Currently, the government has acquired a 161-km corridor for the Standard Gauge Railway between Tororo and Mayuge.
The recent discovery of substantial quantities of oil in the Bunyoro region of Western Uganda is also expected to give rise to increased economic activity in the hinterland of both the Tororo-Pakwach and Kampala-Kasese railway corridors. The government is fast-tracking the start of commercial oil production.
There are over 27 minerals in Uganda, including iron ore (80 million metric tons), phosphates (200 million metric tons), beryllium, chromium, and copper/cobalt, among others, that cannot be exploited economically without efficient rail transportation.
The SGR in Uganda will also provide access to the rich, vast minerals of DR Congo, which include iron ore (5 billion metric tons), aluminum, and large deposits of copper in the Katanga region (62 million metric tons). There is also tin, lead, and zinc (4 million metric tons), nickel, timber, and oil and gas among others. The proposed SGR in Uganda will act as a transit route for the minerals since it will be easier and shorter to reach the markets of China, India, Europe and the Americas.
Currently, the total freight transit traffic from the Indian Ocean Port of Mombasa through Uganda to Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo is of the order of 650,000 metric tons per annum. This traffic is expected to increase drastically (more than 20 times) tons by 2040.
More export traffic than import traffic is expected as peace and stability return to Eastern DR Congo, allowing increased exploitation of her vast resources. Without an efficient railway, the roads leading to these countries will not be able to economically sustain the expected volume of freight traffic.
