Kampala — THE 21km Northern Bypass is to become a dual carriageway all the way from Busega to Kireka, the Uganda National Roads Authority director of planning has said.

David Luyimbaazi said: "We want to make the Northern Bypass a dual carriageway. We should have done that at the start, but we lacked the funds. We have advertised for the consultants to do the studies and design."

Only 3.6km of the 21km bypass had been planned to be a dual carriageway.

The bypass has been delayed for over two years due to differences between the principal partners and lack of some materials.

The type of asphalt that was supposed to make the top layer of the road was no longer available by the time it was needed.

"Since the asphalt the contractor had specified was no longer available, it became difficult to complete the contract without it. The contractor is likely to use a different kind of asphalt," Luyimbaazi said in an interview.

Construction of the 21km road, which was originally funded by the European Union with sh84b, started on May 20, 2004, and was supposed to last for 30 months.