By Ben Musanje
The Government has defended the state of Uganda’s road network despite acknowledging a multibillion-shilling funding gap, delayed projects, aging infrastructure and widespread implementation challenges that continue to slow road construction across the country.
In a statement presented to Parliament, the Minister of Works and Transport outlined progress on national, district, urban and community roads, but the report also exposed significant financial and operational constraints that raise fresh questions about whether Uganda can sustain its road infrastructure without substantially increasing investment.
Road transport remains the backbone of Uganda’s economy, carrying more than 90 percent of passenger and cargo traffic. Yet of the country’s estimated 159,561-kilometre road network, only about 8,882 kilometres are paved, representing just 5.57 percent, while more than 150,000 kilometres, or 94.43 percent, remain unpaved.
The Ministry argued that despite these limitations, Government has continued investing in road construction and maintenance to improve connectivity, facilitate trade, support regional integration and drive socio-economic transformation.
According to the report, the Ministry is currently implementing 23 national road upgrading projects covering 1,274.8 kilometres, 11 rehabilitation projects spanning 854.6 kilometres, and 11 bridge projects involving 30 bridges across the country. It is also supervising 16 projects in-house covering more than 1,000 kilometres, alongside one road project under direct construction by the Ministry.
The Government reported that 92 percent of paved national roads are currently in fair to good condition, exceeding the target of 90 percent, while 77 percent of unpaved national roads meet the fair-to-good standard against a target of 75 percent.
Several major road projects have either been completed or are approaching completion. Among those already completed are the Alwii–Nebbi Road, Soroti–Dokolo–Lira–Kamdini Road, Moroto–Lokitanyala Road, and roads in Pallisa and Kumi municipalities.
Other projects are nearing completion, including the Masindi–Biiso–Kabaale–Kiziranfumbi corridor, Apac–Lira–Puranga Road, Muyembe–Nakapiripirit Road, Tororo–Busia Road and the Luwero–Butalangu Road, all of which have recorded physical progress above 80 percent.
However, beneath the progress report lies a recurring pattern of delays linked to land acquisition, contractor payments and financing constraints.
Nearly every major road project listed by the Ministry identifies delays in acquiring the required right of way as a major obstacle. Several contractors are also awaiting billions of shillings in outstanding payments, while others have experienced slow implementation because Government has struggled to meet counterpart funding obligations required under externally financed projects.
One of the clearest examples is the Masindi–Biiso Road project, where the contractor is reportedly awaiting payment of UGX38 billion. On the emergency reconstruction of the Katonga Bridge and damaged sections of the Kampala–Masaka highway, the report indicates delayed payments amounting to UGX46 billion.
The Ministry also acknowledged that procurement processes remain lengthy, reducing the speed at which projects can absorb available funds.
Funding remains the biggest concern.
According to the Minister, Uganda requires about UGX807 billion annually to adequately maintain the existing national road network, which is valued at approximately UGX26.9 trillion. However, only UGX326 billion has been allocated for road maintenance during the 2026/27 financial year, leaving a financing gap of nearly UGX481 billion.
The available funds will be spread across routine maintenance, periodic rehabilitation of aging roads, bridge maintenance, emergency repairs following floods and landslides, drainage improvements and preservation of existing road assets.
The funding deficit means Government will continue prioritizing urgent interventions while postponing other maintenance works, increasing the likelihood that roads requiring relatively inexpensive maintenance today may eventually require much costlier rehabilitation or complete reconstruction.
The report also paints a worrying picture of the condition of road construction equipment across the country.
Government invested more than USD250 million in road equipment procured from Japan in 2017 and China in 2012 to strengthen mechanized road maintenance in districts and urban authorities.
However, the Ministry disclosed that only 50 percent of the Japanese equipment is currently operational despite recent repairs funded through a supplementary budget. The situation is considerably worse for the older Chinese equipment, where availability has fallen to between zero and three percent, effectively grounding most of the fleet.
Heavy road equipment used by zonal maintenance units, force account operations and construction units is also operating at only about 40 percent availability, mainly because of inadequate funding for repairs, tyres, lubricants and replacement parts.
The Ministry estimates that maintaining existing road equipment alone requires an additional UGX43 billion, while several priority investments remain completely unfunded.
Among the largest unfunded needs is UGX375 billion required for bituminous road construction units intended for cities and municipalities. Government is also seeking funding for supervision vehicles, additional equipment for newly created districts, excavators, bulldozers and other machinery needed to improve road maintenance.
Beyond financing, climate change has emerged as another major threat to road infrastructure.
The Ministry warned that increasingly frequent floods and landslides are accelerating the deterioration of roads and bridges, forcing Government to divert scarce resources toward emergency repairs instead of planned maintenance.
At the same time, aging infrastructure is increasing replacement costs, while limited capacity among local contractors continues to affect the pace and quality of implementation.
Despite these challenges, Government says it intends to commence construction of several strategic roads during the current financial year, subject to availability of funding.
The proposed projects include the Katine–Ochero Road, Kumi–Ngora–Serere–Kagwara Road, Karugutu–Ntoroko Road, Kitgum–Kidepo Road, Jinja–Mbulamuti–Kamuli–Bukungu Road, Laropi–Moyo–Afoji Road and the long-awaited Laropi Bridge.
Planned rehabilitation works also include the Mukono–Jinja Road, Nebbi–Arua Road, Mbarara–Ibanda Road, Mbarara–Ishaka Road, Ntungamo–Kagamba–Rukungiri Road, Gulu–Atiak–Nimule Road, as well as rehabilitation of Masindi Port Bridge and Karuma Bridge.
The Minister assured Parliament that the Ministry remains committed to expanding road maintenance and preparing future infrastructure investments through the Public Investment Management System so that projects are ready for implementation once financing becomes available.
However, the statement leaves Parliament facing a broader accountability question: whether Uganda can continue announcing ambitious road programmes while allocating less than half of the money required to preserve existing infrastructure.
With hundreds of billions of shillings still needed for maintenance, aging equipment, delayed contractor payments and new road construction, legislators are expected to scrutinize not only the pace of implementation but also whether Government’s spending priorities are sufficient to protect one of the country’s most valuable public assets.
As Uganda continues to rely on roads for virtually all passenger and freight movement, the debate in Parliament is likely to shift beyond kilometres completed to whether available resources are being matched with the country’s growing infrastructure needs—and whether the cost of underfunding today will be paid through even bigger repair bills tomorrow. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
