Kampala Inches Closer To Cable Cars
In the next 12 days, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) will announce the company that will undertake a feasibility study for cable car transport in the city.
Following continued traffic jams and congestion in the city, KCCA is looking for a ‘suitable answer’ for public transport users which is cable car transport according to a statement on their website.
The company will emerge from a two-month bidding process for the tender that was advertised in April by the city authority.
Peter Kaujju, the head of Corporate and Public Affairs at KCCA, says the list of bidders cannot be made public at this stage but when the procurement is complete, the list will be public and the company that has been successful will be declared.
Cable car transport has been suggested in other African cities like Lagos in Nigeria to ease traffic flow and lessen congestion.
Asked on how much it would cost the city authority for the feasibility study, Kaujju said it is not possible to estimate before the bids are complete.
As part of the feasibility study, companies will be expected to map out transport routes and stations for cable cars and how effective they can be as a mode of transport.
Cable cars have a passenger capacity of 60 people and run on electric energy. They are famously used in mountain ranges but have recently been used as a form of city transport.
Kaujju says officials from KCCA have visited cities with cable car transport to ‘understand’ how the mode of transport works.
Cabinet earlier approved a 175-million-dollar-loan from the World Bank for the expansion and tarmacking of roads and also modifying city transport. The loan, it is understood, covered the cable car transport system.
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A journey to nowhere. We need better roads, organized urban centers and full supply of electricity. What KCCA is doing is just as simple as someone failing to afford bread and claims to have the ability of buying a cake.
They will sell our assets before you Uganda will be a name. We are no longer have out ownership of source of river Nile and the dam. We sold it to Egypt, Kenya and Rwanda respectively that hurt and stings. But how many Ugandans know and care
Trams will go a long way to ease jams in Kampala. The routes are quite clear and they can be acceptable to the bigger population. In Addis Ababba, trams are to be introduced, the Chinese are already working. Lets borrow a leaf from there.
Two, if it is already decided that it is trams, why the feasibility study? If not feasible, then?? Try to compare the trams, cable cars and other options. Surely, trams will be the best.
Too proud and big ego to borrow ideas. Surprise surprise they won’t tell you what deal behind of that cable. Foreigners are quick to seaze opportunity before you know they tie you down in long-term deals and they suck interest from you before u know it is too late. Let Jennifer tell us what deal behind this, surely Uganda can not afford cable cars. Deal for OIL?
Now for argument’s sake let say they mean trams. Now sure you cant compare Addis to Kla. The later is a much better planned metropolis, relatively bigger roads and different pattern of urban settlement. It may work in Addis but certainly cant see that work in Kla. The Chinese building them in Addis aint saying they will work to solve the traffic problem. Very few cities in China have trams thou they have the financial muscle to build one. Lets not seek to set up white elephants that exhibit such shallow reflection. I still reiterate that flyovers to bypass traffic bottle necks, underpasses/short tunnels and building wider roads will be the most practical way to go. It is a pity even new high ways are generally single or double lane where in places this could be triple lanes. As an example clock tower-kibuye road can easily be expanded into three or four lane road better than a two lane track it is at the moment. There is clearly room for modest expansion. Wake up physical planners at KCCA…visit, research and learn…but for God’s sake dont borrow ridiculous ideas….
I was not sure if KCCA was very serious in pursuing this idea but if they indeed are then God help Uganda. cable cars in Kla? You must be having a laugh really…unreliable electricity, thieves looking for cables or anything electric to steal and sell….just look at your street rights….Now having a cable car transport system is not only complex but is certainly not viable and sustainable at this moment in time….given the volume it can carry, the cost per use etc…i am not sure if the authority is referring to trams and not cable cars as these are two different things…even then these would require much broader roads than is the case in Kla….so why waste tax payers money to pay for feasibility studies when common sense dictates that you first go for most viable practical options than these ludicrous concept ideas? Build flyovers and partially underground tunnels to unblock traffic bottle necks….these are far ore practical options than outlandish options really…come on KCCA u dont get paid loads of tax dollar for u to come up with silly ideas.
So silly ideas indeed but, there apears to be more than what meets the eyes..
btw i have lived and live in cities around the world with trams, flyovers, underground tunnels and cable cars….believe me KCCA u dont want to go down the road you wish to go…just wonder if you folks exercise any critical thinking? save the tax from the poor folks…u are already paid well enough to squander loads of money with such an idea
I visited turkey and was very impressed by roads and plan to stop congestion. I keep on telling people if the mayor of Kampala can have a visit.
More viable transport systems would have been undertaken with far lesser costs than this madness and wastage of resources at the same time tying us into immense foregin debts. They are effectively mortgagging us and future generations.
They preach one thing against foreign influence and they go behind our backs and import such crazy useless things. UK had cable cars as an advert to Olympics and neither it serving a purpose now. Huge debts puts burden on a nation and halts any development to infrastructure. I rather they use that money for sewage system to allow flow of water because many roads are full of pot holes. That cause people avoiding some roads and get congested in one area
What a crazy leader in m7 Uganda got!! he is purely an agent of new agism and NWO.
I have great respect and admiration for what Jennifer Musisi has done apart from her ongoing battle with The Lord Mayor. However, cable cars are luxury to Uganda and it is too soon to have them as a solution to traffic jams. There are other ways to do it such as make more shops, retail parks, outside Kampala just like nalya, freedom city to all entries in Kampala. That will stop people coming to Kampala. Buses and trailers should be allowed for deliveries only. Pioneer buses should be encouraged to negotiate affordable pay of their due taxes to URA. The town council can help to subsidise a few things to help Pioneer make some profit in return to allow them improve services thus will lessen chaotic taxis. Widen Kampala and built markets like in Zana, natetete, bugolobi, nansana and people will not have to come city. Above all boda boda should stop outside Kampala. We need provision of well marked driving instructions eg one way, and spend their money on traffic lights with enforcement camera that anyone not following orders will be prosecuted. To implement these Jennifer needs Kayihura on board and proper functioning Judicial systems that will make sure that there is zero tolerance to offenders. Where is electricity gonna come from 24?
But, really , do you want to believe that with all the brains around Jennifer don’t see such simple crystal clear solutions? and by the way they have all or some of them been exposed to other cities around the world. Someting fishy is just behind this whole idea. Uganda has been finished by the pseudo visionary in m7.
imagine a power cut off in the middle of the journey!!! for the last time I was in Uganda, all the times I visited the city there was a power outage.