The government of Uganda under president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has signed a pact with a business association from the United Arab Emirates, the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry to build a new international airport.
The new revolutionary deal will link Uganda to the international markets and expand its aviation industry capabilities in the East African region.
The deal for the East African nation’s third such airport also expands the UAE’s economic footprint beyond its interests in the renewable energy and oil and gas industries.
“I witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Uganda and the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce led by their chairman, H.E Abdallah Sultan Al Owais for the construction of Kidepo International Airport in Karamoja. This MoU is a sign of the deepening relations with our Gulf partners and another opportunity to cooperate in investment and trade.” Museveni noted.
The UAE’s Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry will build the airport just outside the Kidepo National Park in the northeast near Uganda’s border with Kenya, Museveni’s office said in a statement, without giving the cost.
UAE’s Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Abdallah Sultan Al Owais said the construction works are scheduled to commence in August this year.
The airport will boost tourism by drawing visitors to the 1,442-sq-km (557-sq-mile) Kidepo park known for lions, giraffes, buffaloes and other big game.
The agreement was “a sign of the deepening relations with our Gulf partners and another opportunity to cooperate in investment and trade.” Museveni, who witnessed the signing, said in a post on X.
