UIA and Lagan Exhibit Neglect As Floods Disrupt Namanve Park Operations

A massive sinkhole and persistent flooding in Namanve Industrial Park’s South ‘C’ Estate have disrupted transport and business operations, angering investors and triggering renewed criticism of the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) and its infrastructure developer, Lagan Dott, over what has been described as unpatriotic neglect of critical industrial infrastructure.

The flooding, which follows heavy rains, has repeatedly submerged the area near the railway crossing in South ‘C’ Estate, paralyzing one of the busiest transport corridors in the industrial park. According to the Namanve LC1 chairperson, Mathias Mutyaba, Lagan Dott has since embarked on emergency installation of large culverts to manage the water flow.

However, in the process, a railway line reconstructed barely a year and a half ago by a Spanish contractor at considerable cost to the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) has been completely removed and is expected to be reinstalled once the culvert works are completed.

South ‘C’ Estate hosts nearly 70% of the park’s major industries, including coffee processors, steel and aluminium manufacturers, and food exporters. Investors say the estate has suffered years of neglect as UIA and Lagan Dott prioritised infrastructure development in the less busy South ‘A’ Estate, where proper drainage systems were installed earlier.

The closure of the railway crossing for nearly three months has triggered severe traffic congestion across the park and neighbouring areas. Particular concern has been raised about the bridge near Roofings, which is now carrying all diverted heavy truck traffic.

Investors warn that the bridge urgently requires inspection and reinforcement, yet no engineers from UIA, Lagan Dott, URC or the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) have publicly presented a solution, raising fears of a possible structural failure.

“It is unprofessional to undertake such large-scale works without a traffic management plan, alternative routes or personnel to guide motorists,” one investor said. He noted that delays, fuel costs and logistical disruptions have already resulted in losses running into billions of shillings, with some companies considering legal action against UIA.

Companies say transport routes relying on the railway crossing road, Jokas route, Roofings bridge and the road towards Uganda Christian University (UCU) have been severely affected. They further accuse UIA and Lagan Dott of closing the crossing abruptly without consulting stakeholders or engaging companies to mitigate congestion.

Similar concerns have been raised over drainage designs in South ‘C’ and South ‘B’ estates, which investors claim encroach on freehold and Mailo land without adequate stakeholder consultation.

From the outset, investors say they called for a world-class industrial park with a comprehensive, phased development plan starting with drainage and road infrastructure, overseen by a stakeholder steering committee proposals they say were rejected.

Investors are now appealing to government agencies to ensure equal treatment of all industries in the park and to prioritise professional, park-wide infrastructure planning. They are also urging UIA to produce and officially publish an accurate and inclusive industrial map showing all estates, industries and road networks to give government a true picture of realities on the ground.

Five years after the park’s launch, investors note that UIA’s official representation still shows only three estates, yet hundreds of industries such as Export Trading, Classic, PGS and others are not reflected. They warn that the lack of proper documentation and long-term planning will complicate future handover of the park to municipal authorities and engineers, leaving Namanve vulnerable to recurring infrastructure failures.

“The patriotic duty of UIA, Lagan Dott and the Ministry of Investment is to consider all investors equally and ensure infrastructure development covers the entire park in a practical and professional manner,” investors said.

They called on UIA to demonstrate genuine patriotism by engaging all stakeholders in good faith and restoring confidence in Namanve Industrial Park as a national economic hub.