Image: Winstone Katushabe, Commissioner for Transport Regulation and Safety. Uganda Ministry of Works and TransportUganda’s public transport electrification policy is part of the country’s Fourth National Development Plan and the National E-Mobility Strategy, announced by Winstone Katushabe, commissioner for transport regulation and safety at the Ministry of Works and Transport.The programme is estimated to cost about $1.7 billion. According to Cosmas Twikirize, superintendent of the industrial value chain at the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology, funding commitments secured during the initial round of partner engagement totalled $800 million.The strategy projects a 12.5% contribution to GDP, the creation of more than 500,000 green jobs and a reduction of over 25% in transport-related emissions by 2040, according to Ecofin Agency (linked below).The landlocked East African nation is pushing an industrial strategy backed by local production. This heavily relies on KMC, a state-owned electric vehicle manufacturer based in Jinja. Uganda’s Industrialisation Policy 2020–2040 aims to transform the country from a raw material exporter into a competitive manufacturing hub.Twikirize told The Independent that a total of 37 buses have already been assembled at the Kira Motors Corporation (KMC) plant in Jinja, including 27 built locally.KMC has an annual assembly capacity of about 10,000 vehicles, including 2,500 buses, according to Minister Twikirize. While local content (presumably for vehicles used in public transport) currently ranges from 20 per cent to 30 per cent, the country is targeting local manufacturing content of 65 per cent by 2030. Uganda’s industrial policy aims to increase the manufacturingvalue-added as a percentage of GDP from 8.3% in 2018/19 to 16% by 2029/30, according to industrial policy documents.Uganda’s National E-Mobility Strategy involves government plans to deploy 3,500 public charging stations by 2030, with one charging point every 50 kilometres.Kampala is one of the world’s 10 most polluted capitals, according to IQAir’s global air quality report. According to industrial policy documents, the strategy tackles problematic levels of pollution while supporting domestic manufacturing capacity. Uganda recently revealed plans to begin domestic oil production. Industrial policy aims to utilise this income to finance the country’s energy transition and industrial transformation.The goals now set out by the Ugandan government are ambitious. Uganda currently has about 5,000 electric motorcycles in operation, which represents less than 1% of the total fleet, Commissioner of Transport Katushabe said.“The government has made electric mobility a key driver of sustainable development,” notes Katushabe.ecofinagency.com.
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