KCCA on Friday indicated that the old taxi park will reopen in two weeks for works to resume following months of closure.
The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Friday indicated that the old taxi park will reopen in two weeks for works to resume following months of closure.
Following a nationwide lockdown in March 2020 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country, the government saw it necessary to close the park to have it renovated and put to stand.
With questions mounting up from the general public as to why the exercise is taking even longer, KCCA has disclosed that the park will be ready in 14 days.
According to Hon. Betty Amongi Ongom the Minister for KCCA, the government is aware of how many people have been affected because of the park’s closure but noted they are doing everything possible to ensure it is finished in the shortest time possible.
Among said that a lot of work has been done to advance and give the park a new and modern look. She said that all these renovations and rebuilding put together needed even more time.
“Government takes note of the concerns raised by the taxi operators, users of the old taxi park and the general public over the time taken to complete these renovations. We recognise the strategic importance of this park, given its location, as well as the livelihoods it supports and we are committed to ensure its swift but quality completion in order to restore trade order in the Capital City,” Amongi said.
“We are to inspect and ascertain the progress of related infrastructural projects in Kampala which include Roads under the Second Kampala Institutional Infrastructure Development Project (KIIDP2) and the Lubigi & Nakamiro drainage project over next week.”
Also, she urged the general public more so the taxi operators to remain calm as they finalise all the works.
“We appeal to the taxi operators, the business community and the general public to keep calm as we complete renovation of this strategic workspace in the next two weeks and allow for finalising installation of an automated gate system and the construction of a waterborne public toilet. The Government of Uganda is committed to fast truck development to foster economic growth and improve the quality of life in our Cities.”
A brief about the park
Old Taxi Park is the biggest and busiest public transport terminal in the country. It is located in the Centre and busiest part of Kampala and has served as a major public transport hub for many years covering an area of approximately 3.53 Acres (entire area 4.398 Acres).
It is estimated that over 200,000 people ordinarily transit through this park daily to their different destinations while providing workspace for over 25,000 people including taxi drivers, conductors, vendors and small business owners.
Having been in existence for over 50years, the park was in a deplorable state requiring urgent rehabilitation yet KCCA had been doing minor repairs by patching and sectional reconstruction of specific areas within the carpet area but these had repeatedly failed due to the poor drainage system.
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