By KT Reporter
The World Bank and its partner donors to Uganda have hailed the successes in the infrastructure development programmes in the country, especially the funded projects.
This comes as the country prepares for the second phase of the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID2), 10 years after the launch of USMID1, a project funded by the Urban Development Partner Group (UDPG) led by the World Bank.
Speaking at the National Urban Development Conference, Huyen Phan, Chair of UDPG, applauded Uganda’s progress in transforming urban infrastructure, shaping more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive urban spaces.
USMID targets infrastructure development in urban centres, mainly municipalities and the new cities, under the Ministry of Lands and Urban Development.
Phan, also Co-Task Team Leader of the USMID Programme and the Senior Urban Specialist at the World Bank Group, noted achievements like the more than 210km of rehabilitated roads, 330km of pedestrian and cycle lanes, 12,800 solar streetlights, and 500km of drainage systems.
Other achievements include the strengthening of local government capacity, increasing revenue collection, and improving service delivery and urban mobility.
Going forward, she emphasised the need for integrated, climate-focused urban planning, sustainable financing models, and job creation, especially for youth and women.
“The next phase of urban development will focus on digitalised, low-carbon infrastructure and innovative funding, including public-private partnerships,” she said.
Today, between 25 and 27 percent of the Ugandan population lives in urban areas, according to the Ministry of Lands and Urban Development.
USMID 2 is due to commence on July 1, 2025.
The Ministry says that the programme has revealed the need for balanced and inclusive development and that the challenges of urbanisation need to be met through the provision of better urban infrastructure, capacity building and stakeholder engagement.
However, Minister for Lands, Judith Nabakooba, noted that more funds would be needed if the desired infrastructure development levels were to be met.
“Detailed analytical work on estimating the cost of urban infrastructure in Uganda is currently being done but already it is clear that the numbers will not be small,” she said, adding, “Urban infrastructure financing and development will therefore be an area that will require significant additional attention in the years to come.”
Nabakooba also noted the need to address issues like asset management and weak market linkages in urban infrastructure projects.
“We need to turn our focus to the sustainability of the infrastructure investments. I have taken note of various monitoring activities within these Cities and Municipalities on the increased cases of vandalism and the lack of clear operation and maintenance of the infrastructure,” the minister said.
This calls for a deliberate effort to mobilise and allocate resources to these urban councils for the sustainability of this infrastructure over and above what is being sent under the Road Fund, since Urban infrastructure management is quite expensive, according to her.
The 2-day conference was held under the theme, “Accelerating Urban Development Through Infrastructure: USMID Experience.”
The Permanent Secretary, Dorcas Okalanyi, said the next phase of the programme will include all municipalities in the country, including the newer ones.
“As a Ministry, we are in the final stages of preparing the Uganda Cities and Municipalities Infrastructure Development (UCIMID) to succeed the USMID-AF project. This time the programme is bringing on board all the Municipalities and Cities in Uganda in addition to the earlier ones already under the project,” she said.
Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, the Minister for Works and Transport, appreciated the impact of the USMID program in transforming local government across Uganda, but rued the low levels of maintenance.
He urged the urban authorities and Local Governments to dutifully invest in the maintenance of the infrastructure projects.
There are now 10 cities and 26 municipalities in Uganda that the next project is expected to target all of them-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
