Uganda: Tororo Cement's trucks to be billed for road damages

Tororo Cement trucks are being asked to foot the bill for damaging roads in Uganda with their heavy loads. More than 40 trucks carrying limestone, pozzolanic rocks and marble from Kosiroi mining site in Karamoja ply the route daily as they ferry the raw material to Tororo for the manufacture of cement.

Uganda taxpayers risk paying an extra UGX23bn (US$6.6m) in repair of the Namunsi- Sironko- Muyembe road to offset the damage caused by heavy Tororo Cement trucks.
 However, Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) executive director Allen Kagina has warned the loss incurred would be transferred to Uganda Cement Industry (UCI), Tororo.

The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) won the contract to build the Namunsi-Sironko-Muyembe road at a cost of UGX54bn, but is asking for another UGX23bn to offset the damages caused by cement trucks. This means the Namunsi-Sironko-Muyembe road construction is likely to cost the Ugandan taxpayer a total of UGX77bn (US$22.2bn).

According to residents on the road, the heavy trucks have extensively damaged the road surface, making movement in smaller vehicles an ordeal for travellers to Kapchorwa, Sironko, Bulambuli, Amudat and Nakapiripirit districts.