The World Bank has urged the government to carry out urgent land reforms to remove bottlenecks that continue to slow the country’s construction sector.
The call was made during the launch of the World Bank’s Country Economic Update, which focused on Uganda’s construction industry.
Speaking to Bbeg Media after the launch at the World Bank offices in Kololo, Phan Huyen, a Senior Urban Specialist at the World Bank, said the institution’s research had identified weaknesses in land administration as one of the biggest causes of delays in public infrastructure projects.
“We have found from our research that delays in the implementation and approval of public development projects are largely linked to the need for land reforms,” Phan said.
He explained that Uganda’s current land management system often delays major infrastructure projects because land is owned under different tenure systems, including customary and private ownership.
Acquiring land for roads, schools, hospitals, and other public projects, therefore, takes much longer than expected.
Panelists from academia and the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector said Uganda should train and certify more young people with practical construction skills to meet the growing demand for workers in the industry.
Representatives from the National Building Review Board (NBRB) said they would continue educating the public about the importance of proper physical planning.
They said better planning would help reduce illegal developments and improve the quality of construction across the country.
Officials from Stanbic Bank said the bank was ready to provide affordable financing to property developers and contractors, provided they presented viable projects that offered value for money.
Representatives from the ministries of Finance and Lands pledged continued government support through stronger regulation, legal reforms, and policies aimed at creating jobs and improving the construction sector.
They also appealed to the World Bank to increase its support for Uganda’s housing sector, saying housing remains an important driver of economic growth.
The discussion comes at a time when several World Bank-funded projects in Uganda have experienced delays because of late compensation payments, corruption, weak regulation, bureaucratic processes, and challenges in acquiring land.
Experts say these obstacles increase project costs, delay service delivery, and reduce the impact of World Bank financing on Uganda’s economic growth and development.
