On Monday, 15 July 2024, the African Development Bank Group’s Director for Climate Change and Green Growth (www.AfDB.org), Prof. Anthony Nyong, led a Bank Group team to inspect the 69.2 km Kampala City Roads Rehabilitation Project (KCRRP) (https://apo-opa.co/3MuqQ0R). He was joined by Regional Principal Climate Change Officer, Dr. Olufunso Somorin, Climate Change Expert, Muthoni Nduhiu as well as Engineer Justus Akankwasa, Director of Engineering and Technical Services with the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).

The project is expected to benefit at least 1.6 million people, including commuters, business owners, and transport providers by tackling congestion in Kampala. This will be achieved through improvements to the road network, upgrading of traffic junctions, and drainage capacity enhancements to mitigate street flooding.

The Bank has mobilised $275 million for the project, with the Global Environment Facility and the Government of Uganda jointly contributing $5 million. The implementation progress across all components is currently at approximately 28.4%. The original disbursement deadline has been extended by 3 years. The new project completion date is set for December 31, 2027. KCCA is the project implementer.

Kampala, Uganda’s administrative and commercial capital, faces significant infrastructure challenges. Most of its roads are in poor condition, particularly during the rainy seasons, and only 30 percent of the city’s 2,110 km road network is paved. Poor road infrastructure leads to frequent traffic jams, hindering access to workplaces, commercial areas, and social services. Additionally, inadequate solid waste management exacerbates flooding and impacts surrounding villages, necessitating integrated climate solutions.

To address the adverse effects of climate change, the Kampala City Roads Rehabilitation Project is integrating 5 kilometers of drainage structures to enhance stormwater management and will plant more than 10,000 trees along the streets for carbon sequestration and noise reduction.

During the visit, Director Akankwasa of KCCA, said, "Uganda is proactive on issues of sustainability and climate change, incorporating resilience into our initiatives while looking for opportunities to scale up. As a city of seven hills, Kampala faces persistent flooding challenges that require sustainable, newly designed systems. We need support to re-engineer these systems to tackle the climate challenges we face, such as flooding."

In addition to tackling congestion, the project will also improve air quality by implementing scheduled eco-bus transit services, and expanding pedestrian and bicycle paths to improve travel options in the city.

Prof. Nyong said, "The African Development Bank is very happy to be associated with this project. We are committed to continuing to mainstream resilience measures into the project to ensure that it remains sustainable and adapts to future climate shocks.”

He added that the Bank’s Urban Municipality Development Fund (UMDF) could assist through provision of feasibility studies, particularly on road infrastructure. He highlighted an upcoming call for proposals by the Africa Climate Change Fund on methane abatement, which could support solid waste management by the Kampala Capital City Authority.

Launched in 2019, the project was initially planned for implementation from 2020 through December 2024. The implementation period has now been extended to December 2027.