Chinese contractor for the Entebbe International Airport expansion project now says that it could take more time than planned to complete the work.
China Communications and Construction Company (CCCC) says it is facing challenges with a land owner and locals.
CCCC says that a group of locals have moved to court and received orders to temporarily stop work in the area.
“A clan in Buganda is claiming part of the project land, while people in Mukono have taken court action to stop stone quarrying in their area and this has affected CCCC’s supply of rock aggregate,” says Sun Guicai, project manager, CCCC.
“We only have one stone quarry site gazetted for us to get airport-standard aggregate, which is the first material in construction,” he said. “On September 24, Mukono court issued an order stopping us from quarrying until November 6, when court will resume,” Sun said.
Residents claim that blasting of stone has become an environmental hazard.
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The Chinese firm said that while it had paid an agreed compensation to the people, residents hired a lawyer and proceeded to court.
Due to these problems, CCCC says that they have managed to cover 28 per cent of the works.
First phase of Entebbe International Airport expansion project
The first phase of the Entebbe International Airport expansion project includes construction of new passenger and cargo terminals whose completion deadline is 2020. The new passenger terminal building, covering 20,000 square metres, shall have automated baggage sorting facilities.
The airport capacity which is set to cost Up to $200 million will be upgraded to handle three million passengers annually. According to official statistics, Entebbe’s passenger traffic reached 1,337,261 in 2014.
But Minister of Works and Transport, Monica Azuba Ntege said that she was pleased with the work progress despite the land problems.