Contractor to handover Kabalega International Airport by the end of October

Kampala, August 5, 2026 - Part of the runway at the Kabaleega International Airport. The project contractor, a joint venture of Israeli-British firms Shikun & Binui International (SBI) and Colas Limited, says only the installation of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower remains before the airport is ready for commissioning.

According to Muriisa, delays in procuring the Air Traffic Control tower were the main reason the project missed earlier completion deadlines. “The Air Traffic Control Tower delayed the project, but it is already on site, and we are working on it. This is the only remaining component required to make the airport operational.

We hope that by October 31, we shall hand over the airport to the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA),” Muriisa said. He said the control tower is expected to be fully installed by the end of August, expressing confidence that the October handover deadline will be met without further extensions.

Muriisa attributed earlier delays to several factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced construction activities to stop for several months, as well as delayed government funding, particularly in 2023. He said construction has been completed on most of the airport’s key infrastructure, including the 3.5-kilometre-long, 45-metre-wide runway, the cargo terminal, the passenger terminal, the air rescue and firefighting station, taxiways, airfield lighting system, communications and navigation systems, power substation, perimeter fence and other supporting facilities.