NWSC Briefs Museveni on UGX22.15bn AFCON Water Projects for Hoima, Masindi and Kabalega Airport

The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has briefed President Yoweri Museveni on its preparations to ensure reliable water supply in Hoima, Masindi and Kabalega International Airport ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).The update was presented by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, who chairs the National AFCON Task Force, during a meeting with President Museveni at State House, Entebbe, on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.

The meeting focused on Uganda’s wider preparations for hosting the continental tournament.Uganda will co-host AFCON 2027 with Kenya and Tanzania from June 16 to July 19, 2027. It will be the first time the Africa Cup of Nations is hosted in the East African Community, placing additional demands on infrastructure and services in the host areas.According to the briefing, water supply works for Hoima City Stadium have been completed, while efforts to stabilise water supply across Hoima City are currently at 32 percent. The stadium is supplied by two boreholes at Mparo and Kyarwiru, producing 25 and 15 cubic metres of water per hour respectively, and both have been connected and commissioned.

The Hoima City project is designed to add 2,000 cubic metres of treated water per day to the city’s network. The works include a treatment plant at Kafu-Rwoga, a 2.9-kilometre raw water pipeline and a 300-cubic-metre balancing reservoir, alongside a permanent intake on River Kafu and a 22-kilometre treated water pipeline from Kikuube to Hoima.The report presented to President Museveni indicated that excavation and concrete blinding for the treatment plant units had been completed, while surveys along the pipeline routes were also done. Excavation for the River Kafu intake was at 90 percent, power extension to the sites stood at 50 percent, while steel reinforcement and concrete works at the treatment plant were at 15 percent.The original NWSC assignment covered the Hoima stadium and city water supply, but the AFCON Secretariat later requested the corporation to extend its plans to Kabalega International Airport and stabilise water supply in Masindi Town.

The proposed airport works include increasing the Kafu treatment plant capacity from 2,000 to 3,000 cubic metres per day, constructing a 36-kilometre bulk transfer pipeline and a 200-cubic-metre reservoir at the airport.The water interventions for the airport and Masindi are each at five percent, with pipeline surveys and project scoping completed.

The entire programme is estimated to cost UGX 22.15 billion, of which UGX 6.25 billion has been secured for civil works under the first component of the Hoima project, while UGX 15.9 billion is still being sought. Prime Minister Nabbanja said the projects are scheduled for completion by February 2027, although the outstanding funding will be required for some of the planned works to proceed.