NSSF Has Capacity to Fund Kampala-Jinja Expressway in Two Years, Asserts Ayota

Managing Director of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Patrick Ayota, has expressed confidence in the fund’s ability to finance the significant Kampala-Jinja Expressway project. Ayota stated that NSSF could potentially cover the entire $1.2 billion cost of the expressway within a two-year period.

Ayota made these remarks during a recent interview, highlighting NSSF’s robust financial standing and its growing capacity to undertake large-scale infrastructure developments. The Kampala-Jinja Expressway is a crucial national project aimed at improving transport links and boosting economic activity between Uganda’s capital and its major industrial and port city.

The fund’s capacity to fund such a project underscores its strategic shift towards investing in critical national infrastructure, which aligns with the government’s development agenda. This potential investment could significantly accelerate the expressway’s construction, bypassing the need for extended external financing arrangements or lengthy procurement processes for private concessions.

While Ayota did not specify the exact timeline or conditions for such an investment, his statement suggests a willingness and preparedness on NSSF’s part to play a more direct role in funding major national projects. This proactive stance could serve as a model for other public institutions looking to contribute to Uganda’s infrastructure development.

The proposed expressway is expected to enhance trade, reduce travel times, and improve road safety along one of the country’s busiest corridors, connecting Kampala to Jinja, which is close to the source of the Nile and a key industrial hub. NSSF’s potential financial involvement could bring substantial benefits to the project’s timely completion.

This information was reported by the Daily Monitor.