By Mukasa Edward Sendyona
The contracts director of Dott services, Eng Jamesone Olonya has informed a team of stakeholders who were on a fact finding mission on the Nakalama-Tirinyi-Mbale road that with the technical capacity that dott services has developed over time, only issues related to compensation of project affected persons can delay a road project.
“To minimize the turnaround period on a project and to work within our scope, we mobilize our equipment and personnel on time and commence whenever possible, however there are scenarios where issues beyond our control delay our projects, the biggest issue so far faced is a delay in compensation to the projects affected persons, due to different reasons, we are however glad that our superiors at UNRA take charge quickly to provide solution”.
This he said after issue had been raised specifically concerning the quality of the Nakalama-Tirinyi-Mbale road. A section of the public had raised concern over supposed shoddy work; however the engineer was quick to inform the stakeholders that with UNRA’s in-house supervision of every aspect of the project, concerns of quality are addressed.
“Our bosses and partners at UNRA, are our contract supervisors and as you can see, this is a Sunday but they are on the road, supervising the works”
The 100% fully government funded project costing 135 billion is nearing completion with a few sections in the mainly swampy areas that have works ongoing. The Nakalama-Tirinyi-Mbale road is a major artery to the eastern part of the country, and on full completion will ease pressure on the existing routes. With a projected life span of 15 years, the towns along the road will have a breath of new life.
The technical manager of the project, Eng Andrew Tugume informed the team that stoppage lanes had been created in the main towns on the road, to create space and safety for motorists who seek to have stopovers or run shopping errands.
Mukwasi Jovans, who runs a retail shop in the town of Tirinyi, indicated that his daily sales had seen an increase. He further stated that it was now safer for pedestrians to cross the road in the town, because of the new sections.
The A1 tier ranked Dott services which is the contractor is a regional powerhouse in the industry, with other ongoing projects in Tanzania, south Sudan amongst others.
