Business 25 June 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Ugandan Firms Eye Mbarara's Nyakisharara International Airport Amidst Scrutiny
Newly formed Ugandan companies, Base 7 International Aviation Academy Ltd and Hamster Business Solutions Limited, are vying to partner with Chinese counterparts to develop a major international airport in Mbarara, despite questions surrounding their financial capacity and prior experience. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/special-reports/men-and-women-bidding-for-mbarara-s-nyakisharara-international-airport-5508402
Plans are underway for a significant international airport at Nyakisharara, Mbarara City, envisioned by President Museveni as a crucial transit and refueling hub between China and Brazil. This ambitious project, touted to potentially triple Uganda’s economy, has seen two relatively young Ugandan companies, Base 7 International Aviation Academy Ltd (B7IAA) and Hamster Business Solutions Limited, emerge as key bidders in partnership with Chinese firms.
B7IAA, founded in 2019, and Hamster Business Solutions, established in 2022, reportedly hold shares in each other. However, investigations reveal that neither company has filed annual returns since their inception, raising concerns about their operational transparency and financial standing at the Uganda Registrations Services Bureau.
The founding shareholders and directors of these firms have been identified, with a mix of Ugandan individuals and, in Hamster Business Solutions’ case, two Chinese nationals. This structure precedes their joint bid, along with a UK-registered entity and major Chinese construction companies, to develop the airport.
Despite these concerns, project proponents point to their international partners, including the UK’s Blackrock Uwekeza Ltd and Chinese state-owned giants Hunan Construction Investment Group Co. Ltd and China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute (CSADRI), as assurances of financial and technical capability. These Chinese firms boast extensive experience in large-scale infrastructure projects, including airports, nationally and internationally.
However, questions linger regarding the Ugandan companies’ ability to deliver, especially considering B7IAA’s prior, unfulfilled Memorandum of Understanding with the government to establish an aviation academy at the same Nyakisharara aerodrome. Bureaucrats, speaking anonymously, have voiced doubts about clearing companies with no airport development track record and without a comprehensive feasibility study for such a mega-project.
While B7IAA attributes the stalled aviation academy to the COVID-19 pandemic, government assessments concluded the company lacked the necessary funds, aircraft, and facilities to operationalize the academy. The companies, in turn, have pushed back against the doubts, emphasizing their potential partners’ robust capabilities.