In the last five years, emphasis has been put on developing infrastructure with a view to reducing the cost of production.
Paved (tarmac) roads — These have increased from 3,000km to 4,000km from 2011 to 2015.
Ferry crossings — They have also increased from two to nine, which has contributed to improvement of transport to areas accessed on water. Some of the crossings are shorter detours to some areas, meaning a reduction in travel time In the next five years we will construct 2,025km of new paved roads, rehabilitate some of the old paved ones, construct 112 bridges and provide additional equipment to districts to enable them work on their roads.
Water transport — We will also undertake new investments in water transport by constructing and deploying three ships on Lake Victoria, modernising Port Bell (in Kampala) and Jinja Pier, constructing a new port at Bukasa and launching six new ferries.All these will go a long way in improving water transport and also opening up new routes. For instance, the modernisation of Port Bell and the Jinja Pier will present the opportunity of passenger and cargo service on water between Jinja and Kampala.Regarding energy, we completed Bujagali hydropower project and several other small ones, which increased the power generation from 300MW to over 850MW.
Dams - Construction of new power dams at Karuma (600MW) and Isimba (183MW) on the River Nile was started. We extended the national grid power distribution to households from 11% to 15% and expanded the coverage by over 5,000km. Power generation will increase upon completion of Karuma and Isimba hydropower plants, construction of additional hydropower and geo-thermal stations, invest in transmission and improvement of the distribution network. These interventions will not only provide sufficient power for the country, but also bring down the cost of electricity to consumers.Working with our sister countries in the region, we embarked on the Standard Gauge Rail (SGR) project together with Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan. We will continue with this project until it is completed. We have embarked on the expansion of Entebbe International Airport and rehabilitation of upcountry airfields, which will remarkably improve air transport.We will also continue improving infrastructure in Kampala, including designing and constructing a light rail for the city, and providing workplaces (markets). Relatedly, infrastructure in municipalities and towns will be developed.