President Museveni has said Uganda plans to build new international airports in the country’s southwestern region, including a tourism-focused facility in Kigezi and a large cargo-oriented airport in Mbarara, as part of a broader strategy to expand trade and visitor arrivals.
Speaking at the national Tarehe Sita celebrations in Kabale on Friday, Museveni said the government will expand Kisoro Airstrip and construct a new international airport on land donated by businessman Amos Nzeyi, in partnership with a United Arab Emirates investor.
“We’re going to expand Kisoro airport, and we are going to build a big new airport somewhere here,” Museveni said.
“I want to thank Amos. He gave us land somewhere here where we are going to build, with the ruler of Sharjah, a big airport there—an international airport—so that the tourists fly in. They don’t have to drive all the way from Entebbe.”
The project is aimed at easing access to the gorilla-tracking destinations of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, which lie near Uganda’s borders with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Gorilla tourism is among the country’s top foreign-exchange earners.
Museveni also outlined plans for a second, much larger airport in nearby Mbarara, which he said would be designed primarily for international cargo traffic.
“We also want to build another huge airport in Mbarara, bigger than even in Entebbe,” Museveni said.
“The one in Mbarara is mainly for the trade between South America and China. Apparently, that area is the middle point between China and South America—Argentina and Brazil. So this area is going to develop around tourism. It is already developing, but it will develop even more.”
The remarks suggest the government is positioning western Uganda as both a tourism gateway and a logistics node for long-haul cargo routes linking Asia and Latin America, although officials have not yet released feasibility studies or financing details.
Aviation Strategy
Uganda has been investing in aviation infrastructure to support its tourism, trade, and oil-sector ambitions. Entebbe International Airport, the country’s main gateway, has undergone major upgrades, while regional airstrips in Kasese, Arua, and Kidepo have also been improved.
Tourism receipts have been recovering after the pandemic, with authorities targeting more than $2 billion annually in the medium term. Direct international access to southwestern Uganda could cut travel times to gorilla-tracking zones from Entebbe by several hours, improving competitiveness with neighboring Rwanda.
The reference to the ruler of Sharjah underscores Uganda’s deepening ties with the United Arab Emirates, one of its fastest-growing trade and investment partners. UAE-linked investors have shown interest in aviation, logistics, mining, and oil infrastructure projects across the country.
Details on costs, timelines, and the structure of the proposed airport partnerships were not immediately available. The projects come as Uganda positions itself as a regional tourism and logistics hub ahead of first oil production expected later this decade.
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