The International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group has been authorized to lend the government up to $566 million (sh2.1 trillion).
The Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area Urban Development Programme (GKMA-UDP) will be funded by the loan.
The approval was granted on Wednesday at a plenary session.
In Kampala, Entebbe, Kira, Makindye-Ssabagabo, Mukono, and Nansana municipalities as well as Mukono, Mpigi, and Wakiso district local governments, the program will promote the construction of infrastructure, particularly roads.
Out of the total, $518 million will be borrowed and $48 million will be granted.
Thomas Tayebwa, the deputy speaker, gave the finance minister the responsibility of determining if the loan is one that is impacted by the World Bank’s recent decision to stop lending to Uganda.
“We reviewed the World Bank’s statement, and before putting this item on the order paper, I evaluated and reached a conclusion. But before we move further, we need assurance that this is not one of the impacted projects,” instructed Tayebwa.
Henry Musasizi, the state’s minister of finance, soothed his colleagues by stating that the loan was legitimate because the World Bank Board had already approved the project on May 31, 2022.
“The Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area Project is not one among the projects impacted by the World Bank statement, I want to assure this House. Therefore, it is appropriate that we think about the initiative and handle it so that the Executive may start putting it into practice, said Musasizi.
Tayebwa noted that while the statement only applied to new projects, all previously authorized World Bank projects would be brought before Parliament for consideration.
A loan from the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) in the amount of $42.66 million (sh156.4 billion) will help the program even more.
