KAMPALA—For a $48 million (Shs175.8 billion) contract to supply 10 new diesel-electric locomotives, Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) is comparing offers from South Korean and Chinese companies.
Four companies, including China Shandong International Limited, CRRC Qishuyan Company Limited, Sung Shin Rolling Stock Technology Limited from China, and Dalian Lambo Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. from South Korea, submitted bids for the tender, which ended on March 7.
In addition to complementing the current machinery on the main line from Malaba to Kampala, the new locomotives will be used on the Tororo-Gulu route, which is presently undergoing rehabilitation, according to URC spokesperson John Linonn Sengendo.
In reference to the Tororo-Gulu line rehabilitation, Mr. Sengendo stated, “The contractor has given December this year as the deadline to handover the complete project, which is 10 months from now.”
The Ugandan government has allocated Shs199.9 billion ($54.14 million) for the rehabilitation of the 375-kilometer Tororo-Gulu line, which is anticipated to be finished by December 2025.
Improvements to drainage, new culvert construction, side drain lining, earthworks, utility relocation, five steel girder bridge rehabilitation, and railway track relaying with ballasting are all included in the project.
As part of a five-year initiative to modernize the railway, which is supported by the African Development Bank, the URC is also working to renovate the 265-kilometer Malaba-Mukono track.
The $301 million project will purchase wagons, a multipurpose watercraft, repair the infrastructure of ports and railroad stations, purchase multiple diesel units, automate level crossings, and build concrete sleeper lines.
Benon Kajuna, the managing director of URC, claims that the company now only moves 250,000 tonnes of cargo a year, which is a huge drop from the one million tonnes it moved in 2006.
According to Mr. Sengendo, the project funded by the African Development Bank is addressing the issue of aging infrastructure, which contributes to the drop in cargo volumes.
The railway line connects Kenya’s seaport at the coastal city of Mombasa to the capital, Kampala, and is a part of the Northern Corridor of the East African Community.
