Upcountry Tourism Sites in Uganda to be Developed
The ministry of tourism plans to develop potential tourist sites upcountry. The plan, according to the tourism state minister, Serapio Rukundo, involves establishing world-class facilities for visitors.
The minister, who was inspecting prospective sites in the countryside, told Arua district local leaders on Wednesday that he was waiting for approval from the finance ministry to start implementing the project.
He explained that the plan would be supported by the government’s increased funding to the road sector to link major tourism sites across the country.
“While the Government is working on the roads, we have asked them to work on what we have prescribed as tourism roads. So that when a tourist leaves Kampala, they can traverse the country without necessarily going back to the capital,” Rukundo said.
He announced that the ministry had set aside funds to establish at least 10 five-star hotels in different regions and also procure 100 tourism vehicles under a private-public partnership arrangement.
Rukundo said they were also in talks with the finance ministry to waive taxes on cars, which will be bought and given to private tour operators under a hire-purchase system.
Rukundo added on that the Government would ask established hotels such as Serena and Sheraton to open more facilities upcountry. He noted that the country had been divided into tourism zones, the first being Kigezi, with scenic sites at Lake Bunyonyi, Bwindi forests for gorilla tracking and Ishasha, with its tree-climbing lions.
The second zone, dubbed the Rift Valley Zone, covers part of Queen Elizabeth national park and the Semiliki reserves. The third zone stretches from Murchison Falls national park through the West Nile region.
The other zone covers the eastern region, with Mt Elgon as one of the main attractions.
Kampala is being developed into a short haul base. Tourists based in Kampala will be able to visit the rhinos and hippos in Nakasongola district or the Ssese Islands and return to Kampala the same day, the minister explained.
Rukundo said that there are also plans that are underway to reintroduce rhinos in the 164 square-kilometer Ajai game reserve.
Read MoreTwo Foreign Firms Want to Operate Uganda Cargo Hub
A US$25 million cargo hub that Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has set its sights on in the next phase of developing Entebbe International Airport is generating a lot of interest.
Two groups one from South Africa and another from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have expressed interest in developing the project, which has been designed as a build, operate and transfer project. The CAA’s public affairs manager, Mr. Ignie Igunduura said the airports and aviation body was seeking a joint venture with a private partner like tour operators in Uganda. We have had several groups showing interest. Most of them have made the first contact, Igunduura said. We have given them everything they need to come back with concrete proposals, which we expect any time from now.
The investors who have showed interest are responding to invitations from CAA asking local and international businesses to further assess the financial viability of the project. The cargo centre is provided for under CAA’s 20-year master plan. The centre will have the capacity to hold 500,000 metric tonnes of cargo per annum according the designs, which have been completed.
The holding capacity of the cargo centre is designed to meet anticipated growth in cargo volumes up to 2012. Existing cargo facilities are too small to meet present and future volumes.
A South African company, Africon, has done the designs of the facility, which will occupy six acres at the airport. The proposed cargo centre elements include construction of cargo building (perishable cargo), cargo building (dry cargo), freight forwarders building, customs building, truck off-loading area, vehicle parking area and roads – cargo aircraft apron and taxiways. It also involves construction of an access road to the cargo centre and construction and installation of support utilities.
Mr. Ambrose Akandonda, CAA’s managing director said cargo traffic at Entebbe had risen from 20,000 metric tonnes nine years ago to 64,000 by the turn of last year. The facility will cater for dry and wet cargo and have utilities like chillers and cold storage facilities. “CAA is looking at three options that include involvement of the private sector to build, operate and transfer the facility after an agreed period” Akandonda said at the start of this year when the revelation for the facility was made.
We want to interest the private sector to come into warehousing, which has a turnaround on investment, while CAA provides the aeronautical support infrastructure like paved areas for aircraft, parking and taxi ways.
Airlines are growing their cargo business and Entebbe cannot pull big cargo carriers if such a facility was not in place. One such airline is Emirates, which is rapidly expanding its network. This according to CAA will help Uganda move its cargo to various markets. The Emirates cargo service has increased from a daily flight to four flights a week into Entebbe, signaling significant growth in trade between Uganda and the rest of the world. According to Uganda’s “big push strategy”, the government is looking at turning Uganda into an air cargo centre of excellence in Africa because of its strategic central location.
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