CURRENT PLANS FOR EXISTING AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEW RAILWAYS IN UGANDA PRESENTED BY GRACE JAMES ITAZI DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORT MINISTRY OF WORKS AND TRANSPORT- UGANDA 1

2 Presentation Outline  Background  The Railway Concession in Uganda  Concession Agreement and Performance  Deficiencies and Constraints  Planned Railway Investments  Comments on EARMP  Conclusion 2

3 Total Uganda rail network is 1,266 km, a map is attached Only 330 km is operational, i.e. the main line from Malaba to Kampala (250 km), Tororo-Mbale (55km), Kampala-Port Bell (9km), Kampala- Nalukolongo (6 km) and Jinja-Kakira (12 km) Other lines were closed either due to their technical deficiencies or due to inadequate traffic volumes 3 Introduction

4 Map of Existing Network

5 From the mid 1970s, traffic declined, finances came under stress, and the condition of railway infrastructure and rolling stock deteriorated Privatisation of the railways through concessioning was considered the most viable option to revamp the railways The Kenya and Uganda Railways were jointly concessioned to Rift Valley Railways (RVR) for a period of 25 years from November Introduction (cont’d)

6 Railway Concession 6  Concession Agreement  Freight services including wagon ferry operations to be operated by the Concessionaire  Core railway assets were conceded to the Concessionaire  URC was left to monitor performance of the concession, manage non-core assets and regulate the railway operations on behalf of the Government until an appropriate institution (MTRA) is established

7 Railway Concession (cont’d)  Concession Performance  Overall performance of the concessionaire has been dismal  The agreed targets have not been met including:  Investment in the maintenance and rehabilitation of railway infrastructure and rolling stock;  Increase in freight volumes  Payment of concession fees  Negotiations with the Concessionaire to restructure the concession are on-going to allow for more funding and improved management 7

8 Railway Deficiencies and Constraints Railway Deficiencies and Constraints Traffic loss as cargo has transferred to road: Railways carry less than 10% of import and export traffic (580,000 net tonnes in 2008/09); Inadequate maintenance of railway infrastructure and rolling stock; Failure to offer speedy or reliable service (10 days transit time from Mombasa-Kampala); Lack of funds, inhibiting both investment and maintenance; Inadequate capacity to handle traffic on offer; and Inadequate management. 8

9 Planned Railway Investments Planned Railway Investments 9 1.Western Extension (Kampala to Kasese, 344 km) Major potential traffic would be cement to Kampala and other destinations. Traffic Volumes are estimated at one million tonnes per annum The eastern part of the route could be considered for operation of rail-based Kampala commuter trains A feasibility study for the rehabilitation and upgrading of Kasese line is being financed by GOU at a cost of USD 935, and will be completed by December 2010 The cost of restoring the infrastructure is provisionally estimated at around USD 700 million

10 Planned Railway Investments (cont’d) 2. Northern Extension (Tororo–Mbale–Gulu–Pakwach)  The distance from Tororo to Gulu is 373 km, with a further 128 km to Pakwach  The 55-km Tororo–Mbale section though operational will also require rehabilitation and upgrading  Traffic will include crude oil from North eastern Uganda, limestone from Karamoja to Tororo; agric products and transit traffic between Mombasa and Sudan/DR Congo.  The World Bank is supporting a feasibility study for rehabilitation and upgrading of the line at a cost of USD 969,824  The cost of upgrading the entire line to standard gauge is provisionally estimated at USD 743 million

11 Planned Railway Investments (cont’d 2) Planned Railway Investments (cont’d 2) New Route (Gulu–Nimule–Juba–Wau/ Pakwach-Arua-Yei-Juba-Wau) Peace in Southern Sudan has led to increased local and regional trade and hence increased traffic between Juba and Mombasa The Governments of Uganda and Sudan have signed an MOU on the joint development of the two railway routes A feasibility study/preliminary design will be performed during 2011 This would create a continuous rail route from Mombasa to Juba of about 1,750 km, including about 500 km in Uganda. The estimated length of new track on the Ugandan section between Gulu and Nimule will be about 140 km At an estimated unit cost of USD 2.0 million per km, the total cost of the Uganda section will be around USD 280 million. The extension through Pakwach line-Arua-Oraba-Yei of which about 240 km will be in Uganda is estimated to cost USD 480 million.

12 4. New Extensions (Bihanga–Kigali and Kasese/Pakwach– Kisangani) The Kigali line would branch off the Kasese line at Bihanga, and pass via Ntungamo and Kabale to the Rwanda border giving potential access to iron ore and kaolin reserves in south-western Uganda The railway line length in Uganda would be approximately 250 km, and with mountainous terrain around Kabale, it is estimated to cost in the region of USD 1.0 billion An extension from Uganda to Kisangani in DR Congo would give a through rail route from Mombasa to north-eastern DR Congo; Two possible starting points in Uganda would be Kasese and Pakwach; Distances within Uganda would be approximately 50 km and 80 km respectively, with costs of the order of USD 100 million and USD 150 million respectively 12 Planned Railway Investments (cont’d 3) Planned Railway Investments (cont’d 3)

13 Planned Railway Investments (cont’d 4) Planned Railway Investments (cont’d 4) 5. Upgrading (Mombasa–Malaba–Kampala)  The Governments of Uganda and Kenya signed an MOU to construct a standard gauge railway line between Mombasa and Kampala with extensions to Kisumu in Kenya and Gulu/Pakwach in Uganda  The target is to bring the new line into operation by 2017, at a cost within Uganda of about USD 1.5 billion  The Uganda Government has started the process of procuring a consultant to carry out the preliminary engineering design study

14 Comments to the East African Railway Master Plan (EARMP) Comments to the East African Railway Master Plan (EARMP)  Two major Railway Links had been omitted in the Draft EARMP study report namely:  The Alternative Regional Link to Southern Sudan i.e. Pakwach-Arua- Oraba-Juba (240 km in Uganda) which should be constructed following the completion of the shorter Gulu – Nimule Route (140 km)  The Kasese-Kabale-Goma Link (300km) connecting Western Uganda to Rwanda through DR Congo  The following national routes had not been considered in the Final EARMP study report:  Soroti-Moroto (160km) to link North Western Uganda to the Northern railway extension  Kaiso-Tonya-Kasese (400 km) to link the oil wells in Western Uganda to the main Kasese-Kampala-Mombasa or Dar-es-Salaam export route  The closed lines were not given much emphasis as cost estimates for their reconstruction were omitted

15 CONCLUSION  Railway transport is of strategic importance to Uganda’s economic growth;  Emphasis in the NTMP and the National Development Plan is given to rehabilitation/upgrading of the existing lines and construction of new regional and national links;  While Government can finance studies and preliminary engineering designs, the Private Sector and Development Partners are critical in the upgrading and new construction work; and  Depending on the form of financing, the most feasible railway management option will be decided. 15

16 END THANK YOU 16