COMPENSATION GUIDELINES FOR NEW ENTEBBE HIGHWAY LAND SIGNALS PROGRESS
The Uganda National Roads Authority has now published the approved guidelines for compensation procedures, as the new highway project from the city to Entebbe gathers momentum.
Approved by the last parliament in its final session, the new highway will link Kampala by dual carriage from the Northern bypass to the Entebbe municipality, while a branch road from Lweza / Kajjansi will connect the lake side resort of Munyonyo to the new highway, opening up a direct link for visitors coming to Uganda for conferences, large meetings and conventions, many of which are regularly taking place at the Speke and Commonwealth Resorts.
The new highway, over 50 kilometres long, is expected to significantly cut travel time from and to the Entebbe International Airport and decongest the present Entebbe road, which as a result of new housing estates coming up along the route finds ever more commuters using it on a daily basis, often causing those rushing to the airport for their flights arrive late.
The upcoming compensation exercise, which will pay fair valueto those subjected to compulsory acquisition of their land to build the highway, will then pave the way for the Chinese contractor to come on site and commence construction, though landowners are already complaining to be offered far too little for their properties. This latest development is following the agreements of late 2010 and early 2011, when the Chinese and Ugandan governments agreed to have this proposed new toll highway built and signed their MoUs.
The project is part of a greater infrastructure development programme by government to bring the Kampala Metropolitan Area into the 21st century with new roads, highways and bridges to make access to the capital easier and reduce the eternal traffic jams at the presently very limited entry points into the city and the Central Business District. Watch this space, though it may yet take a while, should court cases be brought over compensation disputes, before ground is eventually broken.
