Nine months to AFCON: Hoima, Masindi water works still need UGX 15.9bn
Courtesy Photo
Water supply works for Hoima, Masindi and Kabalega International Airport ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) still need UGX 15.9 billion, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has told President Yoweri Museveni.
Ms Nabbanja, who leads the National AFCON Task Force, presented the National Water and Sewerage Corporation’s (NWSC) status report as the task force updated the President on tournament preparations at State House, Entebbe, on Tuesday, 22 September. She put the total cost of the water interventions at UGX 22.15 billion. Of that, UGX 6.25 billion has been secured and is funding civil works on Component A of the Hoima project. A request for the remaining UGX 15.9 billion has been made to the AFCON Secretariat and the President, she said.
The balance covers the airport pipeline and plant upgrade, the Masindi works and Component B of the Hoima project. The airport works are ready for procurement once the necessary funds are released, she said.
Uganda will co-host the tournament with Kenya and Tanzania from 16 June to 19 July 2027, the first time the competition will be staged in the East African Community.
The programme is being implemented by the Ministry of Water and Environment through NWSC. Ms Nabbanja said it aims to provide dedicated supply to stadiums and hospitality venues and to stabilise supply in host cities ahead of an expected increase in visitors, and that it has moved from planning into major civil works. NWSC Managing Director Eng. Dr. Silver Mugisha and other sector officials attended the meeting.
Stadium and Hoima City
Ms Nabbanja said water supply works for Hoima City Stadium are complete, while work to stabilise supply in Hoima City stands at 32 per cent.
According to the report, the stadium is supplied by two boreholes at Mparo and Kyarwiru, which yield 25 and 15 cubic metres an hour respectively. Both have been connected and commissioned, giving the venue a supply line independent of the city network. The stadium was officially launched in December 2025.
The Hoima City works are designed to add 2,000 cubic metres of treated water a day to the network. Component A comprises a treatment plant at Kafu-Rwoga with that capacity, a 2.9km raw water pipeline and a 300 cubic metre balancing reservoir. Component B covers a permanent intake on River Kafu and a 22km treated water pipeline from Kikuube to Hoima City.
Excavation and concrete blinding for the treatment plant units are complete, as are surveys of the pipeline routes, the report says. Excavation for the river intake is at 90 per cent, power extension to the sites at 50 per cent, and steel reinforcement and concrete works for the treatment plant at 15 per cent. The next steps are ordering pumps for the Kafu plant and starting structural walling for the aerator, clarifier and filter units.
Airport and Masindi
NWSC’s original scope covered the stadium and Hoima City. The AFCON Secretariat later asked the utility to extend services to Kabalega International Airport and to stabilise supply in Masindi Town, Ms Nabbanja said.
To supply the airport, NWSC proposes raising the capacity of the Kafu plant from 2,000 to 3,000 cubic metres a day, laying a 36km bulk transfer main with a nominal diameter of 200mm and building a 200 cubic metre reservoir at the airport. In Masindi, the plan includes upgrading the Katam to Kyema pipelines, installing electromechanical pumping equipment and extending supply to Masindi Stadium and a hotel designated for the tournament.
Work on the airport and Masindi components stands at five per cent each. Pipeline surveys for both are complete and the works scoped, Ms Nabbanja said.
The airport itself is still under construction. In June, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority said the first phase was 98 per cent complete and the passenger terminal, part of the second phase, was due for completion in March 2027. Ms Nabbanja later directed the Ministry of Works and Transport and the contractor to complete the airport by December 2026.
Timeline
Ms Nabbanja said the water works are on schedule for completion by February 2027, about four months before the tournament begins. The report does not say whether that timeline depends on the release of the outstanding funds.
The briefing came days after Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Dr Patrice Motsepe began an inspection tour of the three host countries. Speaking in Tanzania, he said the hosts had nine months left and needed to speed up.
