The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) says its Package 2B network expansion project will ease recurrent water shortages across the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area by expanding distribution capacity and allowing the utility to deliver more water from the Katosi Water Treatment Plant.
NWSC managing director Eng Dr Silver Mugisha made the remarks on Wednesday during an inspection of the project, which involves laying new transmission mains, constructing reservoirs and booster stations and re-zoning parts of the metropolitan network.
Dr Mugisha said the project was intended to address immediate water shortages in fast-growing areas while creating enough network capacity to meet projected demand through 2040.
He said NWSC was shifting its focus from increasing water production to strengthening distribution so that treated water already available reaches more consumers.
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"The demand for water in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Service Area is growing every day, and customers need answers. The project must be completed within time and budget," Dr Mugisha said.
The Katosi Water Treatment Plant, which has an installed capacity of 240 million litres of water per day, currently produces about 160 million litres daily. However, NWSC says only about 52% of the plant's capacity is being utilised because the existing distribution network cannot carry all the treated water to consumers.
Dr Mugisha said Package 2B would provide the infrastructure needed to evacuate the plant's full current output and ease pressure on the older Ggaba water works.
"We have a lot of water at Katosi, and plans are under way to evacuate more and serve Kampala," he said.
He also directed NWSC engineers to begin work on an additional water-evacuation line from Katosi to enable the corporation to draw more water as the plant's output increases.
The contractor said the entire project is expected to be completed in 2027 but is pursuing sectional handovers so that completed components can be commissioned before the entire project is finished.
The Namugongo-Kasangati line is expected to be commissioned by the end of this year.
Dr Mugisha welcomed the phased approach, saying NWSC would switch on completed sections as works progress instead of waiting for the entire project to be completed.
He said he was pleased with the pace of pipe-laying in Nansana, Katooke, Kawempe and other areas, adding that all sites had been well mobilised.
Dr Mugisha pledged to inspect the project quarterly and directed the contractor and supervising consultant to submit an acceleration plan and quarterly progress reports showing tangible progress on the ground.
He also urged the consultant and contractor to work closely to ensure the project is delivered on time and to the required standards.
Eng Paddy Twesigye, NWSC senior director for projects and capital development, reiterated the corporation's commitment to improving water-supply reliability across the country.
NWSC deputy managing director for technical services Eng Johnson Amayo urged the contractor to conduct adequate pressure testing of the new pipelines to prevent leaks and bursts.
Project consultant David Gaunt said the infrastructure was being built to last.
"We are looking at a project that will last over 50 years," he said, commending contractor Sogea Satom for its experience in delivering durable infrastructure projects internationally.
Alex Gisagara, NWSC senior director for engineering services, said the corporation had developed the capacity to operate and maintain the infrastructure once it is handed over.
"Our team is already handling the Katosi and Kagera water works, which are new. Once Katosi Package 2B is done, our team is ready to effectively manage and maintain the system," he said.
Gisagara said the project, which started in February 2025, was progressing well, with about 25 of the roughly 70 kilometres of transmission mains already laid.
Formally known as the Rehabilitation, Restructuring, Rezoning and Extension of the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area Water Supply Network Project, Package 2B is financed principally by the French Development Agency, with support from the European Union, the European Investment Bank and Germany's KfW.
Sogea Satom is constructing the project under the supervision of the ARTELIA-Gauff Association at a contract value of about €92.4 million.
The project involves laying about 70 kilometres of transmission mains, constructing three reservoirs and building booster stations at Kungu and Kabulengwa.
The reservoirs include a 10-million-litre concrete tank at Kanyanya, a 3.89-million-litre steel tank at Kabulengwa and a one-million-litre steel tank at Mutungo.
The project also includes upgrading the Kampala Water SCADA control system.
NWSC says the project is about 35% complete overall. The Kungu booster station is the most advanced component at about 70%, followed by the Kabulengwa booster station at 65% and the Mutungo reservoir at 55%, while pipe-laying is about a third complete.
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Residents in some areas are expected to benefit before the project's full completion.
A 7.7-kilometre bulk pipeline running from Namugongo through Bulindo, Nsasa and Mulawa to the Kira-Kasangati road is expected to be ready by December 2026.
The pipeline will improve water supply to Namugongo, Kira, Buwaate, Bulindo, Mulawa, Kasangati and surrounding areas.
Once completed, the wider project will extend and strengthen water supply across communities in Wakiso, Kakiri, Gayaza, Nansana, Kanyanya, Luteete and Matugga, among other areas.
The project comes as the Greater Kampala area experiences rapid population growth.
Wakiso and Kampala districts had a combined population of more than 5.2 million people in the 2024 National Population and Housing Census, with Wakiso emerging as Uganda's most populous district.
NWSC says the population growth has increased pressure on a water network that remains unevenly distributed and, in some areas, ageing.I would not use "end the recurrent water shortages" in the headline or lead because that is stronger than the evidence presented. "Ease" or "address" is more defensible and still captures the news angle.
