Kamya raises concerns over slow airport construction

HOIMA

The Inspector General of Government, Betty Kamya, has raised concerns about the slow work at Kabalega International Airport in Hoima district.

While touring the facility currently under construction at Kabale sub-county in Hoima district recently, Kamya said the construction works are still behind schedule.

The airport is expected to play a crucial role as one of the key support infrastructures for the upcoming commercial oil production activities. It is expected to be used in the transportation of heavy equipment that cannot be delivered by road for the construction of a refinery at Kabalega Industrial Park.

“The Government has injected a lot of money into this project, but the construction works are very slow and I don’t think that it will be completed on time,” Kamya said.

The contractor for the airport construction works, a joint venture of Israeli-British firms, Shikun & Binui International Limited (SBI), has set October 26, 2023, as the handover date for the airport to the government.

However, during her visit, Kamya said she saw that the deadline set is not likely to be met as various crucial facilities, including the control tower at the airport, are yet to be fixed.

Kamya said in two weeks’ time she will meet with the relevant stakeholders in the Government to critically look at the issues delaying the completion of the airport and have the issues addressed.

Fred Kayima from the Ministry of Works and Transport said work at the airport currently stands at 93.3%.

He added, however, that many key facilities at the airport are yet to be fixed.

“The runway is complete. However, many of the key facilities required for it to be operational have not yet been put up,” Kayima said.

Patrick Batumbya, a consultant working with SBC, said crucial facilities, including electricity, a control tower and weather station meant for the completion of the airport, are yet to be fixed, and the company is currently financially constrained.

He said currently, they need over sh180b to fully complete the construction of the airport. He added that if the Government fails to provide them with the money, this could delay the completion of the airport.

In February, the contractor halted the construction works at the airport following the government’s failure to allocate more than sh126b to complete the remaining works. The contractor then said the funds were needed to complete the control tower and other operations at the airport.

 Investigations

During a field visit at the airport in February, state minister for works, Fred Byamukama, said the Government was investigating the contractor for allegedly exaggerating prices for some materials meant for the construction of the airport.

He said the contractor is suspected of conniving with some top government officials to swindle money meant for the construction of the airport.

Byamukama added that the contractor, under unclear circumstances, demanded extra sh126b from the Government to complete works at the airport, yet the Government had cleared the Euros 264m needed by the contractor for the entire project.

He said the Government was negotiating with the contractor but would consider terminating the contract if negotiations did not yield results.

However, in April, the contractor resumed construction work after reaching a consensus with the Government.

Construction progress

The airport will have a fire station, apron, control tower, accommodation facilities, parallel runways, taxiway, air rescue firefighting house, power substation house, communications and navigation systems, perimeter fence and air-ground illumination system facilities.

The runway, measures 3.5km in length and 45 metres in width.

The cargo terminal building, limited-capacity passenger terminal building, air rescue firefighting house, power substation house and air-ground lighting system are between 89 to 90% complete. The airport will have a capacity of accommodating four cargo planes at ago according to SBC.