The government has presented a loan request seeking to borrow more than four hundred billion shillings from Standard Chartered Bank to upgrade the 116-kilometre Kitgum-Kidepo tourism road in Northern Uganda.

The Minister of State for Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, Amos Lugoloobi, presented the proposal in Parliament on Thursday, April 18, 2024, during a plenary session chaired by Speaker Annet Anita Among.

Speaker Among referred the loan request to the Committee on National Economy for scrutiny, saying such a tourism road, if worked on, will greatly boost tourism in the northern part of the country.

However, she expressed concerns over delays in processing this loan.

“How can this loan finish over a year in the approval process yet you have to pay commitment fees?” Speaker Among said.

In 2023, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni confirmed the government’s commitment to construct 325 kilometers of tarmac roads in various parts of the country to facilitate the tourism sector.

The roads include Kitgum-Kidepo (116 km), Lake Bunyonyi-Kisoro-Mgahinga (74 km), Karenga-Kapedo-Kaabong (70 km), and Kisoro-Rubuguri-Muko (65 km). Museveni further said there will be the establishment of an airport in Karamoja and others for easy movement of tourists.