Northern Corridor states have renewed efforts to accelerate regional infrastructure projects aimed at reducing the cost of doing business and improving the movement of people and goods across the four partner countries.
The commitment was made during the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIPs) National Coordinators' Meeting held at Mestil Hotel in Kampala from August 24 to 25, 2026.
The meeting brought together national coordinators, cluster chairs and senior officials from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan to assess progress on regional projects and address challenges affecting their implementation.
Uganda's National Coordinator for NCIPs, Ambassador Richard Kabonero, said the Northern Corridor framework was established to accelerate projects that connect the partner states, particularly in ICT, electricity transmission, roads and customs.
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"The most important thing is to reduce the cost of doing business," Kabonero said.
He said the countries had made progress on several projects, including the Standard Gauge Railway, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), electricity transmission and digital connectivity.
"We just connected with the Republic of Rwanda at Mirama Hills for the fibre optic cable," Kabonero said.
He added that Uganda is also supplying electricity to Rwanda and working with South Sudan to improve road connectivity.
"We are selling electricity to the Republic of Rwanda. We are improving our connectivity on roads with South Sudan," he said.
According to Kabonero, the partner states are also pursuing major road projects, including the Juba-Nimule and Kampala-Jinja roads, as part of efforts to deepen regional economic integration.
However, he said implementation of some projects had been slowed by differences in national budget cycles and financing arrangements.
"The challenges have been on real execution, given the different budget cycles and different funding mechanisms. But we are addressing those," Kabonero said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Dr Aminah Zawedde, said the four countries have identified 14 clusters through which regional projects are being implemented, with each partner state leading some of the clusters.
She said Uganda's ICT cluster is focused on improving communication and digital connectivity across the region.
One of the major achievements, she said, is the One Network Area, which has helped reduce roaming costs among the four countries.
"Today, as long as you are part of these four partner states, when you move from Uganda to Kenya, to South Sudan, to Rwanda, you incur the same costs of communication that you incur when you are doing a normal domestic call," Zawedde said.
She said the initiative had helped reduce the cost of communication and doing business while strengthening social and economic ties among the partner states.
The countries are also planning a regional satellite, with Zawedde revealing that the partner states have mobilised resources to conduct a feasibility study.
"The other project that we are working on is coming up with a regional satellite," she said.
She explained that the study will determine the cost, location and capacity required for the proposed satellite.
"That feasibility study will inform the cost of that regional satellite, where it will be placed, what kind of capacity we shall need to get it in place," Zawedde said.
The ICT sector is also developing concepts for regional cybersecurity projects, although funding is still required to implement them.
Zawedde said the wider goal of the integration programme is for the partner states to increasingly operate as one region.
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"The intention and purpose of integration is to operate as one," she said.
She argued that closer cooperation would allow the countries to benefit from economies of scale and achieve greater impact than working separately.
"Working in silos cannot help us," Zawedde said.
The Kampala meeting is also preparing the ground for the 15th Northern Corridor Integration Projects Summit, which is expected to be hosted by Rwanda in Kigali.
Kabonero said the last summit was held in 2018 and that the current meeting is expected to help finalise outstanding projects and address implementation bottlenecks ahead of the next summit.
The meeting will conclude with the consideration and signing of a National Coordinators' Report, which will guide discussions and decisions at the Kigali summit.
