By KT Reporter
Members of Parliament continue to raise concerns about the delay in the implementation of energy-related projects in the country.
A report by the National Economy Committee of Parliament cited the Energy Development Programme, which they said holds US$3.12 billion.
The Committee’s Vice Chairperson, Robert Migadde, said the projects financed from borrowed money delayed taking off. Some of those include the Masaka–Mbarara line, Kampala grid upgrade, and industrial parks supply projects. He said some of the projects have taken off, but the disbursement of the funds is not more than 30 percent. Some of these projects were flagged off in 2018.
Miggade blamed the delays on lengthy and protracted procurement processes, limited counterpart funding, land acquisition disputes, vandalism of transmission lines, and technical issues with donors.
“Some contractors absconded, while COVID-19 worsened delays,” he said.
The committee urged the government to reform land acquisition laws to avoid “persistent failure to make timely use of borrowed funds.”
Data from the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development shows that as of March 2025, energy projects worth US$3.1 billion (UGX 10.8 trillion) had been approved and financed through external loans. Yet, only US$2.4 billion (UGX 8.4 trillion) had been disbursed, a 78 percent release rate that conceals a tangle of inefficiencies and stalled construction sites.
Among the lagging projects are the 400kV Masaka–Mbarara transmission line, co-financed by the French Development Agency and KfW; the Kampala Metropolitan Transmission System Improvement Project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); and the Power Supply to Industrial Parks initiative designed to provide dedicated high-voltage lines and substations to zones like Lira, Namanve, Jinja, Mbale, and Soroti among others.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, expressed outrage over “unprecedented delays” and questioned why loans for industrial park connections, meant to end in 2024, still show zero progress. “Someone must be wrong somewhere. How do you report zero progress on loans signed five years ago?” Tayebwa asked pointedly.
Recently, a report by the Economic Research Policy Centre(EPRC ) said the delay badly impacts the country. It said for taxpayers, it means years of paying interest on a project that was not yet delivering returns, contributing to mounting public debt, and reducing fiscal space for critical sectors like health, education, and agricultural extension.
“Over the past decade, Uganda has made infrastructure a cornerstone of its development agenda, with over 30% of the national development budget consistently allocated to roads, energy, and logistics (National Planning Authority, 2020),” said EPRC.
Launched in 2018, most of these projects remain mired in delays. “The UGX 2.22 trillion Electricity Access Scale-Up Project, aimed to connect 1.3 million households by 2027, has experienced delays in implementation due to the World Bank’s clearance process,” admitted State Minister for Energy Sidronius Okaasai Opolot.
“The good news is that we’ve now reached the procurement stage, but the requirement for counterpart funding continues to count negatively on our progress indicators.”
Okaasai pointed to the Masaka–Mbarara line as a case in point: “Implementation was delayed mainly due to financing terms and back-and-forth engagements with the funders. The best-evaluated bidder was a Chinese company, but the financiers insisted on awarding the contract to a French firm. This took a long time to resolve.”
On the industrial parks, he maintained that work was ongoing, albeit slowly. “Many parks have already been connected to the grid, but substations and transmission lines are not yet fully completed. Industrial parks are expanding faster than our infrastructure can support.”
Meanwhile, Erute South MP Jonathan Odur criticized the Ministry of Energy’s claim that Uganda has “surplus power,” noting that only 2.3 million of Uganda’s 10.8 million households are connected to the grid. “If every household were connected, would there still be a surplus to export to South Sudan? Clearly not. It’s unfair for the ministry to blame Parliament when so many approved projects remain non-performing.”
Sidronius Okaasai Opolot, the Minister of State for Energy, however, insisted the ministry’s figures were misunderstood. “Once procurement isn’t concluded, no funds are spent, so progress appears as zero. The financier, Sino-Sure, withheld disbursement pending the government’s payment of a premium. Parliament has since approved additional financing to cover that,” he said
The EPRC noted that while infrastructure spending has remained high, delays in the completion of key projects—ranging from energy and transport to logistics—threaten to erode their intended economic impact.
“As Uganda enters FY2025/26, the challenge is no longer about prioritisation but about execution. Without timely delivery, the infrastructure meant to unlock growth risks becoming a fiscal burden, limiting benefits from the completed projects.”
Meanwhile, the government continues to pay commitment fees on undisbursed funds, a silent but costly drain on public resources. According to the Ministry of Energy, Uganda still needs US$4 million (UGX 13.9 billion) to extend power distribution to underserved regions.
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