Uganda hosted the 2nd Global Logistics Convention which brought together transport players mainly from the East African region with great focus being the role the country is playing in the transport logistics.

Uganda being landlocked depends on transportation logistics from Kenya and Tanzania, but the country also plays a great link for goods being transported to Congo,  Rwanda and South Sudan.

Sudan is the biggest consumer of Uganda’s agriculture products and finished products. However, as narrated during the convention, all is not well.  Regional Lorry Drivers Director Mr Byron Kinene said “Ugandans have gone through so much hardships as transporters in South Sudan. Spirit of the region and engagement through National Monitoring Committees played a role in addressing those issues.”

The convention also looked at the great prospect for oil and gas transportation with countries in the region developing system to transport newly found oil. Kenya is in the process of transporting oil through the road from Turkana oil fields while Uganda is finalizing plans for development of pipeline through Tanzania.

However, with improvement of trans-border checks, the convention noted that the movement of goods and services has become smoother. Uganda’s Minister for Transport,Hon Azubantege acknowledged the setting up of one stop border centre at Malaba recently by Kenyan and Ugandan presidents smoothed this process.  “New one stop border recently commissioned through  TradeMark Africa has reduced Mombasa-Kampala transit from 18 to 3 days.”

The Electronic Single Window enables increased inter-agency cooperation, driving quick turn-around time on document or cargo clearing and processing and in effect reduces the amount of time spent on clearing goods for export or import.

The Minister said Uganda is doing all the best to improve the transport sector and is currently developing the Southern route to Mwanza port by water with the project set to be completed in 2020.

“We are reviving the national airline, we are expanding Entebbe International Airport. In Hoima, we are building a new airport to assist in the agriculture sector development.”

Source The Exchange

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.