UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | Hon. Byamukama Fred, the State Minister for Transport, visited the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) for a tour of the sector. During his visit, he expressed his excitement and enthusiasm to learn about how the agency operates.
“I am here to learn how UNRA works. Together, we shall improve the livelihoods of our people. Let’s share ideas, I am ready to help UNRA,’ Hon Fred Byamukama said in his opening remarks. ‘I have heard good things about UNRA, and look forward to being part of the transformation journey that you are leading across the nation,” Hon Byamukama said.
What is UNRA?
The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) is a government agency under the Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT), established under the UNRA Act of 2006. The mission of the agency is “To Efficiently Develop and Maintain a Safe and Sustainable National Road Network for the Economic Development of Uganda.”
Its mandate includes maintaining the national roads network, advising the government on road policies, and addressing the citizens’ concerns about national transport.
The Achievements of UNRA
- Contracts worth UGX 2.15 trillion have been granted to local contractors to increase the capacity of local firms in the last three and a half years.
- UNRA won the award for the “Best Implementer of Local Content Policy” and “Most Transparent Procurement Entity” by the Global Infrastructure Transparency Initiative with countries participating from four continents.
- Has achieved a 100% conviction rate for all closed criminal cases since 2015 and saved UGX 300 billion in legal fees as the internal legal team stepped up.
- Achieved 81% contract approval within two weeks of submission to the Solicitor General.
- Authored and implemented 17 policies and 3 regulations.
- 29 upgrade projects, equaling to 1791kms have been completed between 2016 and June 2021.
- 1156.7km of roads have been reformed.
- 43 bridges have been constructed.
- 219.7km of town roads have been constructed
- 17,759.85 hectares of land have been acquired for more road projects.
In addition, UNRA has worked diligently to save taxpayers money and cut costs wherever possible. For example, the average cost increase due to the Variation of Price (VOP) for approximately 15 upgrade projects was retained at 2.49%, opposed to VOP of 20% before 2015. Furthermore, for 13 upgrade projects, the cost of design improvements was managed within the original contract and no extra costs were added.
Lastly, the agency has also managed to reduce the cost of acquiring land for road projects by 64.5%.
What to Expect from UNRA Now?
During Hon. Byamukama’s tour at UNRA, the Director of Network Planning and Engineering Eng. Isaac Wani highlighted a few plans that UNRA is set to deliver:
- 3,532km of road upgrades
- 32km of capacity improvement
- 6 strategic bridges
- 435km road expressways to mention but a few.
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