Uganda’s government is seeking parliamentary approval to borrow up to €207.7 million, equivalent to about $242 million, from Citibank for a major road project in the country’s east. The request is a financing proposal, not a completed drawdown.
The project covers rehabilitation, design and construction of the 127-kilometre Jinja–Mbulamuti–Kamuli–Bukungu road and 10 kilometres of urban roads in Jinja City. The full planned works therefore span 137 kilometres.
Finance minister Henry Musasizi presented the request to lawmakers. The government says the corridor would improve movement of people and goods across the Busoga subregion and provide an alternative connection between northern and southern Uganda.
About €179.26 million is earmarked for construction and related commercial insurance, while roughly €28.51 million would fund land compensation and project supervision. The allocation remains subject to the parliamentary process and financing terms.
The proposal arrives as Uganda’s debt-service burden is attracting greater attention. The central bank has warned that increasing debt payments can crowd out spending on education, health and other public services.
The International Monetary Fund projects public debt at about 55.5% of gross domestic product in the fiscal year that began in July and close to 60% by 2030-31. It has characterised the debt-service burden as high.
Fitch has affirmed Uganda’s B sovereign rating with a stable outlook, while identifying rising government debt and a high interest burden as constraints. Those assessments do not decide the loan, but frame the fiscal trade-off facing parliament.
The decision therefore links a concrete infrastructure need with questions about financing capacity. Until parliament approves the package and the parties complete the relevant agreements, the €207.7 million remains an upper borrowing request rather than cash already received.
