Construction of Kabaale International Airport in Uganda is on track to begin in January 2018.
The airport will cater for both passengers and cargo and facilitate the construction of an oil refinery in the area. Crude oil reserves were discovered 10 years ago in the Albertine rift basin near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The airport is to be built in the Hoima District in the Western region of Uganda.
While construction is slightly behind schedule, Ronald Twesigye, manager Aerodrome Engineering Planning and Development at the Civil Aviation Authority of Uganda, said: “It is anticipated that the project will be substantially completed in three years.”
It will be built in two phases. “The first phase is primarily to facilitate the construction of the oil refinery. The second phase is intended to commercialise the airport,” he said.
At this point, the first phase is expected to be completed in 2020, and phase two for commercial visitors will be completed in 2022. The airport is expected to boost the economy of Uganda, and is part of a master plan to increase tourism within Uganda.
It will be built by Colas Ltd (the UK subsidiary of French civil engineering firm, Colas Group) and SBI. In November Colas Ltd was granted a £215million (€244million) loan for the construction.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) and Standard Chartered Bank are expected to extend a line of credit of up to $350m (€294million) to Uganda for the construction.
