Kampala’s Shs550 Billion Road Push Faces a Costly Maintenance Test

Some Kampala residents leave home at 5am to escape traffic, exposing themselves to attacks on dark streets before the working day begins. For drivers, the daily calculation can be which pothole is least likely to damage a tyre. These journeys carry a business cost as well as a personal one: damaged vehicles, delayed deliveries and fuel consumed while standing still.

A Shs550 billion programme launched by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) in July 2025 aims to improve 87 kilometres of city roads. But construction alone will not resolve the capital’s transport problems, argues Damson Atwesigye in an analysis published by Nile Post Uganda. Atwesigye, a knowledge management officer at Makerere University’s Economic Policy Research Centre, identifies regular repairs, working drains and better public transport as essential parts of the solution.

The stakes extend well beyond the city’s permanent residents. Kampala had about 1.8 million people in the 2024 census, while KCCA estimates that workers and traders arriving during the day lift its population above 3.5 million. Moving those people and their goods through damaged, crowded streets raises the cost of doing business in Uganda’s commercial centre.

New roads, a large repair gap

The latest programme follows several major investments. After the KCCA Act of 2010 established a dedicated authority for the capital, the World Bank-supported Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project widened roads, installed junction signals and improved drainage. The Entebbe Expressway opened in 2018. Japan-funded works opened in March 2025 included the Clock Tower flyover, Nsambya underpass and new footbridges.

Yet the city’s road network remains mostly unpaved. KCCA puts its total length at about 2,114 kilometres, with roughly 770 kilometres covered in tarmac. Nearly two-thirds are therefore still dirt roads. Atwesigye warns that blocked drains, heavy traffic and repairs left too late can also undo improvements to paved routes. Better inspection of construction work is another priority in his analysis, to prevent defects returning soon after contractors finish.

Funding for routine care is much smaller than the headline construction programme. KCCA received about Shs10 billion for road maintenance in the 2025/26 financial year, equivalent to less than Shs5 million per kilometre if spread across the entire network. The Uganda Road Fund receives about Shs500 billion annually from the government. According to the article, MPs and experts say requirements are increasing faster than available funding.

The bill reaches traders and families

The costs travel through the economy. Taxi drivers face damaged suspension parts, motorcycle riders face repeated punctures and traders can lose value when produce arrives bruised. Congestion adds wasted fuel and unreliable deliveries, leaving businesses to hold extra stock or disappoint customers. As Atwesigye’s analysis puts it:

Road damage ultimately reaches everyone through higher prices, Atwesigye argues.

There is also a severe human toll. KCCA’s 2025 Road Safety Report recorded 407 traffic deaths and 2,993 serious injuries in Kampala. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists accounted for 94% of those killed; half of the fatalities involved people on motorcycles. Against national economic growth of 6.3% in 2024/25, reported by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the next test is whether road investment is backed by sustained maintenance. Atwesigye calls for published repair plans and costs, stronger coordination, reliable buses, organised taxis and motorcycles, safer footpaths and better traffic control. Those are the measures to watch alongside new construction.