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Uganda - 2.3 Road Network
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Road Network

The road transport is by far the most dominant mode of transport in Uganda, carrying over 95% of passenger and freight traffic.

  • The road network comprises of about 21,120 km of national roads in total, 5,878 km of urban paved roads and about 15,226 km of unpaved community roads, connecting communities, and districts countrywide: The National Road Network - Uganda National Roads Authority (unra.go.ug)
  • Uganda logistics are heavily dependent on road transport and on the Northern Corridor for its freight flows.
  • Sensitive and perishable exports are transported by road (4 Days) to Mombasa whilst other products are transported by road and rail (5 - 14 days).
  • Internal distribution within Uganda is predominately by road.
  • Uganda is also a transit country with cargo being transported by road through to The Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Rwanda.[1]

The Ugandan trucking fleet is fragmented and predominantly contains of small holder companies with an aging truck fleet, and most trucks are pre-used and between 10 and 20 years old.

  • Most of the trucks moving Uganda’s import/export centres around Kampala and Mukono (central region).
  • The second largest route is Tororo-Lira-Gulu (where most of the exports reach countries such as South Sudan and Northern DRC).
  • By far the Northern corridor from Mombasa-Nairobi-Tororo-Kampala is the busiest and most congested freight corridor in the country (with bottlenecks to be expected). 

 

Distance Matrix:

Table 2.3.1. Uganda: Distances from major towns (Km)

 

Distances from Capital City to Major Towns (km)

 

 

 

Kampala

Tororo

Moroto

Gulu

Arua

Hoima

Fort Portal

Kabale

Kampala

 

0

210

460

334

449

200

294

409

Tororo

 

210

0

322

377

590

408

502

617

Moroto

 

460

322

0

387

600

494

683

867

Gulu

 

334

377

387

0

248

231

426

736

Arua

 

449

590

600

248

0

257

450

706

Hoima

 

200

408

494

231

257

0

196

451

Fort Portal

 

294

502

683

426

450

196

0

313

Kabale

 

409

617

867

736

706

451

313

0

 

Table 2.3.2. Uganda: Travel time from major towns (hours)

 

Travel Time from Capital City to Major Towns (hours)

 

 

 

Kampala

Tororo

Moroto

Gulu

Arua

Hoima

Fort Portal

Kabale

Kampala

 

0

4:26

7:47

5:08

7:40

3:36

4:52

6:51

Tororo

 

4:26

0

4:54

6:14

10:01

7:58

9:10

10:53

Moroto

 

7:47

4:54

0

6:02

9:53

8:05

11:13

13:59

Gulu

 

5:08

6:14

6:02

0

4:28

3:35

6:44

11:40

Arua

 

7:40

10:01

9:53

4:28

0

4:44

7:53

12:33

Hoima

 

3:36

7:58

8:05

3:35

4:44

0

3:15

7:54

Fort Portal

 

4:52

9:10

11:13

6:44

7:53

3:15

0

5:01

Kabale

 

6:51

10:53

13:59

11:40

12:33

7:54

5:01

0

 

Road Security:

Road safety is a major problem in Uganda and most accidents take place on the Northern Corridor entering/exiting Greater Kampala region: Annual-Crime-Report-2018.pdf (upf.go.ug)

  • According to the 2018 traffic and road safety report the number of crashes in country was 12 805 and out of these 3 195 was fatal.
    • However, according to preliminary research by Makerere University School of Public Health the figure may be as high as 9,000 road traffic accident fatalities annually.
  • About 40% of the traffic accidents happens within the Greater Kampala region.
  • There is no specific regulation on truck driving hours in Uganda (long driving hours for 4 to 6 days with very little rest is common on long haul transport).

 

Weighbridges and Axle Load Limits:

Axle loads and vehicle dimensions are regulated under UNRA Vehicle Dimension Regulations, 2017.[2] Maximum load for 2 axels (8-tyre) is 18 tonnes, 3 axels and 4 axels.

  • Regulations comply with the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite maximum allowed standard although axle loads, and dimensions are not still fully harmonized within EAC area.
  • 35 possible vehicle dimension configurations with maximum load limit being 56 Tons for 7 or more axle vehicles.
  • The standard for long haul transport is a 6-axle truck where the existing axle load limit allows a Gross Vehicle Mass of 48 tons, giving a payload of about 30-32 metric tons.
  • 5-axle trucks are also common with maximum gross mass being 42 tonnes and payload of 25-27 tonnes.

 

Below table shows the gross vehicle weight plus the axle load limit currently in force within Uganda and the East African Region. These are coherent with international best practice.

 

Table 2.3.3. Uganda: Gross weight and axle load limits.

Axle Load Limits

 

Uganda

Kenya

Tanzania

Truck with 2 axels

 

18

18

18

Truck with 3 axels

 

22

22

22

Truck with 4 axels

 

30

30

30

Semi-trailer with 3 axels

 

34

34

34

Semi-axels with 4 axels

 

36

36

36

Semi-trailer with 5 axels

 

42

42

42

Semi-trailer with 6 axels

 

48

48

48

Truck & drawbar trailer with 4 axels

 

42

42

42

Truck & drawbar trailer with 5 axels

 

48

48

48

Truck & drawbar trailer with 6 axels

 

52

52

52

Truck & drawbar trailer with 7 axels

 

56

56

56

 

  • Regarding Northern Corridor (Mombasa – Kampala) Road Class and Surface Conditions:

 

The Northern Corridor Road network is the main arterial cargo highway for Eastern Africa and runs from the port city of Mombasa through Nairobi and Kampala to Kisangani in eastern DRC. Tributaries branch off to Mwanza, Juba, Bujumbura, and Kigali.[3]

  • The entire Northern Corridor Road network covers approximately 12,707 Km in length distributed as follows: 1,323.6 Km in Kenya, 2,072 km in Uganda, 1,039.4 km in Rwanda, 567 km in Burundi, 4,162 km in DRC and 3,543 km in South Sudan.
  • It is a multi-modal corridor and is recognized as the most significant corridor for logistics in East and Central Africa. Its transport network consists of modes of surface transport routes linking the landlocked countries to the Port of Mombasa.
  • These surface modes include road, rail, and inland waterways. The existing infrastructure along the Northern Corridor consists of physical transport infrastructure that is crucial for trade facilitation and provides logistics services that reduce costs, as well as soft infrastructure to facilitate faster clearance and processing of goods.
  • In Uganda the northern corridor is approximately 2,072 km long, out of which, about 79% of total road network are paved and in good condition 13% in fair condition.
  • Transport market across the corridor is currently not favourable for rail transport.
  • Road haulage is quite competitive in terms of cost and time along the Northern Corridor, even though this is achieved through exhausting driving times, poor working conditions for drivers, major road safety concerns, road congestion and many other externalities.
  • Heavy trucks cause road surface deterioration over relatively short periods and therefore the road network should be continuously improved for increasing traffic demand and well maintained for safe and efficient logistic transport as well as passenger transport.

 

Long transit times can sometimes be explained by the combination of multiple factors, some of these are mentioned below: Home (ttcanc.org)

  • Traffic congestion is evident in urban areas along the Northern Corridor including the major towns/city of Port Mombasa, Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret or Kisumu (& abundance of speed mitigation measures and stopping points: interchanges, speed humps, checkpoints, weight bridges, etc).
  • Waiting times (at the border) capacity at border points for processing is sometimes insufficient resulting in long queues near the border.
    • NB: The Northern Corridor Observatory estimated that stops at the border took on average 6 hours & JICA Northern Corridor study calculated that crossing the border could take about 1.5 days.[4]
  • Breakdowns. The Northern Corridor Observatory 2018 showed that a median of 5.13 hours was lost because of breakdowns.
  • Congestion Transit time statistics of the Northern Corridor show that time spent on the Ugandan side reflects aggravated congestion and delays due to densely populated areas, and traffic with absence of efficient bypasses and expressways.
  • Waiting times (to clear at International Container Depos - ICD). Although border stations operate 24/7, working times and clearance at most ICDs are made manually and only during daytime.

 

In order to take full advantage of the export potential to the regional market, improvements on the traffic linkage to surrounding railway corridors will be key in developing the trade:  Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority: Home (ttcanc.org)

  • African countries including EAC are major export destinations and account for 45% and 66% of the current volume of exports from Kenya and Uganda, respectively.
  • Logistic hubs in major cities of East Africa will also be essential for development strategies since they play several roles in flow of commodities including;
    • Modal shift (truck to rail).
      Container depots.
    • Inventory management
    • Location and maintenance of standard gauge railway (SGR) lines and stations
 

[1] Ibid.

[2] Uganda National Roads Authority (Vehicle dimensions and load control) Regulations, The Uganda Gazette No. 49, Volume CX, dated 31st August 2017.

[3] 2020, Joint Northern and Central Corridor Performance Report, Annual report 2016-2019.

[4] Kenya Ministry of Transport, Uganda Ministry of Works, Japan International Cooperation., 2017. Project For Master Plan on Logistic in Northern Economic Corridor. EI, JR, 17-053.

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