By Moses Kizito Buule
China International Water and Electric Company is in the clinch of finalizing the construction of Isimba Hydro Power Project in Kayunga district, and President Yoweri Museveni is slated to switch on the 183 megawatt facility at Nampanyi village.
According to the Assistant Project Manager Peng Chuan, the five-year project will be the first one in the country to be completed in the MoU record time.
He was on Friday conducting a team of officials from the presidential Manifesto Implementing Unit (MIU) of the President’s Office on a monitoring round of government projects in MUkono, Kayunga, and Buikwe districts.
In Kayunga, the team led by MIU Deputy Director Fred Kamugira visited Isimba Power Project work for rehabilitation and expansion of Kayunga district hospital and rehabilitation of Ahmed Seguya Memorial Technical Institute at Kangulumira.
Earlier, they visited Youth LIvelihood Programme (YLP) enterprises, Uganda Women Empowerment Programme (UWEP) fishing processing projects and government-aided schools in Mukono and Buikwe.
Chuan attributed the clockwork-like performance to co-operation with the district leaders and Ministry of Energy officials, and compliance by communities during the compensation phase.
At the district hospital, the team was conducted around by the Project Manager of M/S Arab Contractors (U) Limited Eng. Haitham Elderby who expressed optimism that the work will be completed in the 25 months period reflected in the memorandum of understanding.
“We have so far completed three months and indicators show that everything remaining normal, we shall upgraded the hospital to a 300-bed facility from the present 100 beds”, Eng. Elderby said.
MIU Director Kamugira disclosed that the manifesto implementation is on course, and that the presidential vision of uplifting Ugandans’ incomes by 2020 is steadily getting lighter.
He disclosed that government has embarked on a phase of aggressive rehabilitation of hospitals countrywide so as to synchronize the poverty reduction campaign with health improvement.
Kamugira was happy to note that 95 percent of the work at the Isimba power project has been accomplished, and that the few compensation hiccups along the Isimba-Bujagali line have been ironed out.
Kayunga Resident District Commissioner Rose Birungi reported that two years down the road, the district has registered remarkable success in the manifesto implementation.
Besides the Isimba power dam and Kayunga hospital projects, she disclosed that a loan was secured from Kuwait for construction of a girls’ dormitory and a science laboratory at Ahmed Seguya Memorial Technical Institute at Kangulumira.
“Our concern today is tarmacking of the 60-kilometre Kayunga-Galiraaya road, and we have been promised that this will be embarked on in a short time”, Birungi said.
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