Police, NWSC to vacate Busega-Mpigi expressway route after three-year standoff
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Uganda’s police force and national water utility will relocate Mpigi Central Police Station and NWSC offices next week to clear the right of way for the 27-kilometre Busega–Mpigi expressway, even as compensation remains unpaid.
Police and the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) have agreed to relocate facilities affected by the Busega–Mpigi Expressway next week, ending a three-year stalemate over compensation and clearing the way for road construction works.
The agreement followed a meeting on Wednesday between State Minister for Works Siraji Ali, Inspector General of Police Abbas Byakagaba and NWSC’s Advisor for Engineering Services, Alex Gisagara, who represented the corporation’s Managing Director. The meeting focused on relocating Mpigi Central Police Station in Katonga Region and NWSC offices, both of which fall within the expressway’s right of way. The relocation and compensation issues had remained unresolved since 2023, affecting access to sections of the road corridor.
“Under the agreement, both institutions will vacate the affected premises next week to allow construction works to proceed, even as they await compensation from the government,” Ministry of Works spokesman Emmanuel Ainebyoona said.
Ali was accompanied by the Ministry of Works and Transport’s Principal Land Officer, Ivan Tugume, and members of the expressway project team. The minister also visited Kyobe Kizito, a project-affected resident of Lungala in Mpigi District, whose compensation dispute remains before court — a sign that land acquisition and compensation issues on the project are not fully resolved.
The government is trying to accelerate construction of the 27-kilometre expressway, intended to ease congestion on the Kampala–Masaka highway and improve links to western Uganda and neighbouring countries. The project has faced prolonged delays, design changes and escalating costs: in March 2026 Parliament questioned why the cost had risen from an initial Shs547.5 billion to more than Shs1.2 trillion, and in July Inspector General of Government Aisha Naluzze Batala inspected the project as part of an investigation into alleged mismanagement of construction funds.
The African Development Bank has approved additional financing for the expressway, whose completion is now targeted for 2030. Once operational, the road is expected to cut travel time between Busega and Mpigi from more than two hours to less than 45 minutes.