Uganda pushes approval and financing reforms to cut construction costs
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Uganda's finance minister says unclear building approvals, lengthy procedures and expensive long-term finance are holding back construction, and has tied reform of the sector to the government's tenfold growth target.
Uganda's government is prioritising reforms to building approval procedures, construction standards, infrastructure and public procurement in an effort to lower construction costs and strengthen local contractors, Finance Minister Henry Musasizi said.
Speaking at the third Doing Business Forum at the Mestil Hotel in Kampala, held under the theme "Unlocking Uganda's Tenfold Growth through the Construction Value Chain", Musasizi said regulatory bottlenecks and financing constraints were undermining the sector's potential. He identified unclear building approval requirements, lengthy procedures and unpredictable costs as barriers that discourage investment, and urged local governments to improve physical planning and make approvals more transparent.
The minister said the construction sector could generate substantial employment and accelerate growth if Ugandan firms are equipped to compete for major projects, calling for support to help local contractors acquire modern equipment, technical skills and management expertise. He also urged investment in locally manufactured building materials to reduce dependence on costly imports.
On housing, Musasizi put Uganda's deficit at an estimated 2.4 million units and said closing it would require innovative financing and greater private-sector participation. He said households and developers continue to struggle to access affordable long-term finance, and that the Ministry of Finance would support the phased capitalisation of the state-owned National Housing and Construction Company to expand housing development.
He added that government would keep investing in roads, electricity, water and other services, including in Greater Kampala, to open up land for residential, commercial and industrial development, and said digitisation and procurement reforms are intended to improve transparency and value for money in public projects.