Jinja – Kampala – Mpigi Corridor Project – Ministry of Lands, Housing & Urban Development

In pursuance of our primary function, to produce comprehensive and integrated development plans for the
country, the National Planning Authority (NPA) has continued to guide the country’s progress towards
socio-economic transformation.

In addition, the Authority, as the Secretariat of the Presidential Economic Council, has produced various policy papers to guide Cabinet decision-making. Also, through the National Development Policy Forums, the Authority has facilitated public debate and input on key national policy issues. This is aimed at enhancing national ownership of all development planning frameworks, plans and policies. To harmonise development planning in the country, the NPA has developed and disseminated sector andlocal government development planning guidelines, as well as creating and strengthening partnerships, networks, and collaborations in development planning.

In its continued support of Uganda’s economic and social development, the African Development Bank, in collaboration with the Korea International Development Agency (KOICA), funded via the Korea Africa Economic Cooperation Trust Fund (KOAFEC) the preparation of the Jinja – Kampala – Mpigi (JKM) Corridor Physical Development Plan for the Government of Uganda (GoU) through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD).

The JKM Corridor is Uganda’s primary economic activity corridor, accounting for some 15 percent of the national population and over 30 percent of Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The plan is to serve as a guiding framework for prioritising and locating current and future investments. The JKM Corridor Plan is focused strategically on the corridor level, rather than at the level of individual spatial-administrative units (the capital city, districts, towns, and municipalities) and has an explicit purpose in mind as per the intentions of the initiative: “to attract, manage and coordinate all forms of public, private, community and individual investments over an indefinite period based on demand.”

The production of the plan fills a gap in Uganda’s current planning system as there is currently no strategic,integrated spatial-economic framework to support and guide public and private sector investments to make most use of the assets of the corridor and bring out its full potential. The JKM Corridor Plan is guided at the higher level by Vision 2040 and the National Development Plan III (2021 – 2025) prepared by the NPA, and by the National Physical Development Plan (NPDP), and from a lower level, it both draws on and is to inform city, town, and district physical, economic and development plans.

The successful implementation of NDP III’s programmes will impact spatial and physical development in the JKM Corridor as they will affect the structuring and efficiency of administrative institutions and of development and urban planning frameworks and instruments at the local and regional levels (e.g., public sector reform, human capital development) as well as the prosperity and demography of the corridor (e.g.,private sector development, manufacturing, tourism).

The NPA will make the necessary changes to its internal organisation to implement the JKM Corridor Plan and will establish a steering committee to oversee its implementation. Ultimately, the NPA aims to raise awareness regarding the plan and now presents it for public review and comments.

Joseph Muvawala (PhD)
Executive Director