NEW FERRY RESTORES NILE CROSSING 35 YEARS DOWN THE LINE
The town of Kayunga on the western side of the River Nile is now once again connected with the town of Kamuli on the eastern side of the river, after a break of over 35 years.
The only ferry, which provided a link between the two towns, broke down in the early 1980’s and was never replaced, forcing travelers to make the wide detour via the main river crossing in Jinja, wasting time and resources.
Local trade, but also tourism, is thought to take a boost now that a brand new ferry has been assembled and started to make regular crossings, allowing trucks with produce as well as public transport like busses to cross the river.
The Speaker of Uganda’s parliament inspected the ferry and crossed the river to her home constituency of Kamuli, expressing her delight that government has at last made good of a long standing promise to restore ferry services, allowing economic development to take off in the area. The new ferry cost over 2.2 billion Uganda Shillings and is capable of carrying either up to 100 passengers and up to 8 vehicles at a go.
President Museveni is expected to formally commission the ferry in due course during one of his regular trips into the country to meet the people of Uganda.
