Sh93BN LUWERO ROAD HITS COMPENSATION SNAG! Land Disputes Slow Final Stretch as Dott Services Nears Finish Line
DOTT Services Company completing the works in Butalangu town council. 26.86 kilometres of the road have already been covered with asphalt
The long-awaited Sh93 billion Luwero–Kiwoko–Butalangu Road is edging closer to completion, but unresolved government compensation claims by a handful of Project Affected Persons (PAPs) are threatening to push the project beyond its revised completion deadline.
The 29.72-kilometre road, being constructed by Dott Services Limited, was commissioned by government in July 2023 with an initial completion period of 24 months. The deadline was later revised to August 16, 2026 to allow additional time for execution.
Despite the looming deadline, the contractor says the overwhelming majority of the work has already been completed, with the remaining delay largely beyond its control.
According to Isaac Ssebuliba, the Measurement Engineer at Dott Services Limited, the contractor has already laid asphalt on 26.86 kilometres of the road and is currently carrying out the final stages of road marking and installation of speed humps.
Only 2.86 kilometres remain to be completed.
However, Ssebuliba explained that construction has stalled on 1.6 kilometres because sections of the road corridor remain inaccessible after some landowners declined to vacate, citing delayed government compensation for their property.
The affected sections are located in Luwero Town Council, Kiwoko and Wansalangi Village in Nakaseke District.
Ssebuliba emphasized that Dott Services can only undertake works on sections that have been officially handed over free of encumbrances and appealed to the Ministry of Works and Transport to expedite compensation or negotiations with the remaining affected persons.
He noted that once the outstanding land issues are resolved, the contractor is ready to complete the remaining works.
The Ministry of Works and Transport has acknowledged the challenge.
Principal Communications Officer Susan Kataike confirmed that land acquisition has slowed progress on the final stretch of the project but assured the public that government is working to compensate all the remaining Project Affected Persons within the current quarter.
She said the ministry is satisfied with the progress achieved so far, pointing out that most of the road has already been completed.
According to the ministry, a total of 589 Project Affected Persons were identified along the Luwero–Butalangu Road corridor.
Most of them have already received compensation, leaving only those occupying the remaining 1.6-kilometre section where construction cannot proceed until compensation issues are resolved.
The ministry also revealed that compensation for a fuel station, which had previously stood in the way of construction, has since been completed, removing one of the project’s major bottlenecks.
To prevent similar delays on future road projects, government has introduced new guidelines requiring that at least 50 percent of the road reserve be secured before construction contracts are awarded.
The ministry is also engaging development partners to finance civil works and land compensation concurrently while maximizing the use of existing road alignments to reduce acquisition costs and minimize displacement.
The project has also attracted political attention.
Recently, Katikamu North Member of Parliament Denis Sekabira raised the matter on the floor of Parliament, urging the Ministry of Works and Transport to fast-track completion of the road to spare residents from prolonged dust, traffic disruptions and the economic hardships associated with the unfinished sections.
The construction is being financed with support from the OPEC Fund for International Development, which extended an US$11.5 million loan to the Government of Uganda in 2018 to co-finance the project.
Once completed, the upgraded road will provide a critical transport link connecting Nakaseke District to Luwero District and the Kampala–Gulu Highway, significantly improving the movement of people, agricultural produce and other goods while boosting trade and economic growth across the Greater Luwero sub-region.
With more than 90 percent of the road already completed, attention is now firmly on the government’s ability to conclude compensation for the remaining affected landowners so that Dott Services can finish the final stretch and deliver the much-anticipated road.
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