KAMPALA, UGANDA-France is increasing financial support to Uganda from the current Euros 30-50m to between Euros 60m and 80m per year, the country’s envoy to Uganda has announced.
Ms Sophie Makame explained that the French government has been providing support of between Euros 30-50m per year over the past four year’s but this is to be increased to between Euros 60-80 per year for the next three years 2015-2018.
The funds are channeled through the French Development Agency (AFD), a public institution that implements France’s policy for development financing.
She told the media in Kampala recently that the funds provided to Uganda and the other East African Community (EAC) partner states are for investment in energy, water and sanitation, environment, climate change and to the private sector.
AFD deputy director for Africa Laurent Amar pointed out that France has since 2010 committed a total of 266m Euros in Uganda through concessional and non-concessional loans, grants and equity sharing.
He said that the agency’s objectives is to improve water supply and sanitation systems in urban areas, promote the private sector through public-private partnership, credit lines and guarantee schemes for local banks, credit facilities and equity sharing for companies.
The main beneficiary is the Bujagali project because it is a real public private partnership project for Africa and Uganda in particular.
“We have over the past four year’s availed a total of 1.1bn Euros to the East African Community (EAC) partner states part of which is utilized by the private sector supporting priority projects identified by the partner states’ government,” said the AFD regional director for East Africa Yves Boudot.
“The pillars we are supporting in Uganda are the same in the other partner states of the East African Community where we have also opened offices like in Dar es Salaam and Bujumbura recently,” he added.
AFD chief executive officer Anne Paugram explained that in the energy sector, they have provided funds for interconnection lines to regulate power supply from Uganda to Tanzania and Kenya.
“We want to improve power generation and distribution targeted at the person in the rural areas where Uganda has the lowest coverage compared to other partner states,” she said.
She added that on-going projects include feasibility studies for water production project in Kiruhura district and the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC)-Masaka-Mbarara projects whose funding is planned for 2016.
The main beneficiary and largest project in Africa is the Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) project in Kampala but we are also planning for construct another water treatment plant in Kampala East following the increase in the Kampala’s population moving to 4.5m.
The water for production project is estimated to cost between Euros 30-40m while the NWSC West Masaka-Mbarara project is Euros 50m.
“Very soon a contract will be signed for the rural electrification and the Muzizi hydro power project all worth Euros 95m while a feasibility study is on-going for the Masaka-Mbarara electricity transmission line,”.