By KT Reporter
The government has launched the construction of its first climate-resilient and gender responsive cross-border market at Elegu Town Council in Amuru district, a strategic border point between Uganda and South Sudan.
The 41 billion shillings’ construction project implemented by TradeMark Africa with funding from DANIDA and the European Union was flagged by the First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, also the Minister for East African Community Affairs, on Wednesday in Elegu Town Council. It aims at mitigating floods currently affecting traders at the makeshift Elegu Market, empowering women, youth, and persons with disabilities and strengthening the Elegu–Nimule trade corridor.
Speaking at the launch of the construction works, Kadaga said the market has been designed to contain recurrent floods and climate change impacts caused by the bursting of Unyama river, an annual disaster that has left traders at Elegu market counting losses over the years.
Kadaga noted that the market, once completed, will facilitate cross-border trade between not only Uganda but also other neighbouring countries. Traders can easily sell their goods, while passengers in transit can also purchase the goods.
In a written message read by Kadaga, the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja noted that the government remains committed to strengthening the infrastructure, preventing trade bottlenecks and ensuring that the country remains a beacon of regional integration and socio-economic resilience.
“Let us build a market that stands not just as concrete and steel, but as a symbol of transformation. A place where trade strides, where women and persons with disabilities find space and voice, and where communities learn to accommodate and support each other,” said Nabbanja.
Nabbanja, however, called on the traders who will use the facility to own it up to transform their livelihoods and the communities, adding that she is optimistic that once completed, trade at the border will rise beyond 30 percent.
The Danish Ambassador to Uganda, Singe Winding Albjerg, noted that the market will greatly cater for small-scale traders, most especially women at the border point who are being impacted by climate change effects. According to Albjerg, the project, which is the first in the East African region, if successful, could also become a model and be replicated in other cross-border neighbouring towns which are Ugandan trade partners.
Sanne Willems, the Team Leader European Delegation to Uganda, said the European Union (EU) last year carried out a scoping study, which indicated that 80 percent of the vendors at Elegu Market were women who couldn’t access markets in South Sudan.
Willems noted while South Sudan is one of Uganda’s biggest markets, due to the floods, agricultural products intended for end up being severely affected by bio-sanitary standards.
“In a country like Uganda, where South Sudan is one of the big markets and major export destinations, around $100 million per year in informal trade, … We were at the border post, we didn’t see many trucks, we mainly saw people walking across, and especially women traders,” said Willems.
Amuru Resident District Commissioner Geoffrey Osborn Oceng, however, said the persistent flooding of Elegu Market, which has been ongoing for nearly seven years, has affected trade and called on the government to open the banks of River Unyama to avert the problems.
Oceng noted that while a new market is being put in place at the border, the state of the Gulu-Nimule highway is currently in a sorry state, while drainage systems and proper roads are not in place in Elegu Town Council.
According to experts, the market design has a flood-mitigating design. The infrastructure will be raised about 2.5 meters above flood level with reinforced drainage, permeable paving, and stormwater basins to ensure that even during a flash flood, operations are not disrupted.
Allen Assimwe, the Deputy Chief Executive Director of TradeMark Africa, revealed that this is the first market design in Africa, adding that the architects analysed weather data for the next 30 years to ensure the structure is climate responsive.
Babirye Edith, a vendor at Elegu market, has welcomed the development, saying it will help vendors from the endless past sufferings of fire incidents and floods, which have left many of them in losses over the years.
We have been suffering because we haven’t been having a good market. I am very happy now that we are going to have a good market and we will stop suffering. The long time we have been praying for a new market,” said Babirye.
Construction of the market will take 24 months and is being undertaken by Ambitious Construction Company Ltd. The market design has climate-smart features such as Solar panels, cyclone ventilation, rainwater harvesting, and waste management. It also has modern vendor shades, sanitation facilities, banking hall, a restaurant, a day care centre, loading bays, improved storage and quality control, and vehicle parking space.
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