Government has unveiled an ambitious roadmap to transition Uganda's transport sector to electric mobility, with a target to fully shift public transport and motorcycles to electric by 2030.
Winstone Katushabe, Commissioner for Transport Regulation and Safety at the Ministry of Works and Transport, said the strategy is anchored in key national frameworks, including the Fourth National Development Plan and the National E-Mobility Strategy.
"Government of Uganda has positioned e-mobility as a critical enabler of sustainable development," Katushabe said, noting that the policy direction is supported by multiple planning instruments aligned to economic transformation.
He said under the national plan, government is prioritising local manufacturing, innovation, and infrastructure development, including support to Kiira Motors Corporation, which has capacity to produce up to 10,000 electric vehicles annually.
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"I think very soon you will be seeing some buses in Kampala for Kiira," he said, adding that pilot electric bus operations have already been tested along the Jinja-Iganga corridor.
Katushabe outlined targets under the e-mobility strategy, including 100 percent electric passenger vehicle sales by 2040 and installation of charging infrastructure across public spaces.
"We have EV charging infrastructure to all public offices and public spaces by 2030... at least 3,500 public EV charging stations... and a charger within every 50 kilometres nationwide," he said.
He acknowledged that limited charging infrastructure remains a key challenge to adoption.
"One of the biggest challenges we have currently... is the charging infrastructure. We may have these vehicles... but we must ensure the infrastructure is ready," he said, cautioning against duplicating foreign systems without adapting them to Uganda's realities.
"We don't want to copy and paste. Let's understand the infrastructure in Uganda," he added.
Katushabe said the e-mobility programme is expected to contribute 12.5 percent to Uganda's GDP and generate over $15 billion annually, alongside creating more than 500,000 green jobs.
He also noted cost advantages of electric vehicles, saying ownership costs are about 60 percent of diesel-powered vehicles, while energy costs range between 10 and 22 percent of petrol or diesel equivalents.
On current progress, Katushabe said Uganda has more than 5,000 electric motorcycles on the road, though this accounts for less than one percent of the total fleet.
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"There is headroom for massive scale-up," he said.
He added that electric buses are already operating on select routes, with more expected in Kampala under pilot programmes, while private sector players are expanding charging and battery-swapping infrastructure.
Katushabe said government is working with multiple agencies to develop standards, regulations, and interoperability frameworks to support the rollout.
"I don't know whether we are going to achieve these targets, but this is what is at play," he said.
