Uganda is seeking a budget of $ 388 million by September 2018 to restart Uganda Airlines in cessation of activities since 2001. The national company will therefore resume its activities in the fourth quarter following approval by the Cabinet of a master plan indicating the modalities of resumption of flights from the hub of Entebbe to East Africa and the rest of the continent.
This is the headache of Ntege Azuba , Ugandan Minister of Public Works and Transport who coordinates the working group set up since 2016 by the President for the relaunch of Uganda Airlines.
According to the master plan, the initial fleet will consist of four CRJ900 Bombers and two A330-200 wide body aircrafts. The government, which is the largest shareholder, will have to introduce $ 70 million in four installments over a three-year period. The first injection can be made in the next budget. Another $ 318 million required for aircraft acquisitions will be built using a combination of funding tools.
“The business plan proposes that these funds come from external financing, through banks, private equity funds, lenders, government borrowing, export credit agencies, or cash, ” says the master plan.
The revival of the national company is a wish dear to the President of Uganda , Yoweri Museveni . According to him, there are several indicators that reassure the viability of the future company. “I am convinced that the Ugandan airline will succeed mainly because of six factors: the Ugandans of the diaspora, the Indian community, businessmen, tourists, regional traffic and internal displacement,” prophesied the head of the Ugandan state.
He thinks the future company will sell the country’s tourism potential. “In terms of tourism , no country can compete with Uganda if we have an airline and promote our beautiful climate, our wildlife and other tourist attractions,” he concluded.
As a reminder, on Saturday, June 04, 2017, President Museveni received in Entebbe , a delegation of Italian-French aircraft manufacturer ATR, led by Patrice Bauebo, the sales manager for the Africa region. The discussions focused on the recovery prospects of the national airline.