The government of Uganda through National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) says its Package 2B network expansion, rehabilitation and network re-zoning project will end the recurrent water shortages across the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area and keep pace with the region's rapidly rising demand, as the utility works to deliver the full output of the Katosi drinking water treatment plant.
NWSC managing director Eng Dr Silver Mugisha said this on Wednesday during a tour of the Package 2B works, which include laying new transmission mains, construction of reservoirs, and booster stations across north and west Kampala.
Dr Mugisha said the project would resolve the immediate scarcity affecting fast-growing neighbourhoods while building enough network capacity to meet demand projected through 2040.
He said NWSC was deliberately shifting its focus from adding production to expanding distribution so that treated water already sitting in the system reaches households currently going without.
Touring the sites, Dr Mugisha pressed the contractor to fast-track pipe-laying and warned that the works must stay on schedule and on budget. "The demand for water in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Service Area is growing every day, and customers need answers," he said. "The project must be completed within time and budget."
He said the Government of Uganda, through NWSC, was implementing Package 2B to address water-supply challenges across the metropolitan area and to stabilise supply for a rapidly expanding population.
The corporation says the Katosi Water Treatment Plant, which added 160 million litres a day when it came online, is running at only about 52% of capacity because the distribution network cannot yet carry all of its treated water to consumers.
Dr. Mugisha said Package 2B was the missing link designed to close that gap and allow NWSC to draw on Katosi's full potential.
Dr Mugisha also directed NWSC engineers to begin work on an additional water-evacuation line from Katosi, which is designed to produce up to 240 million litres a day. He said Package 2B would allow the utility to evacuate the plant's full current output of 160 million litres a day, while the new line would let NWSC abstract still more water as the plant scales up. "We have a lot of water at Katosi, and plans are under way to evacuate more and serve Kampala," he said. Drawing more water from Katosi, he added, would relieve the supply stress currently carried by the older Ggaba water works.
The contractor told the managing director that while the full project would be completed in 2027, it was pursuing sectional handovers — commissioning finished components as it goes so that residents get water sooner. The Namugongo–Kasangati line is due to be commissioned by the end of this year.
Dr Mugisha welcomed the phased commissioning approach, saying NWSC would switch on parts of the network as works progress rather than wait for full completion.
He said he was pleased with the pace of pipe-laying in Nansana, Katooke, Kawempe and other areas, and noted that all sites had been well mobilised.
Dr Mugisha pledged to inspect the project quarterly and directed the contractor and supervising consultant to submit an acceleration plan and quarterly progress reports backed by tangible work on the ground. He urged the supervising consultant and the contractor to work in tandem to deliver a quality project.
Eng Paddy Twesigye, NWSC's senior director for projects and capital development, reiterated the corporation's commitment to improving water-supply reliability across all its areas of operation nationwide.
NWSC deputy managing director for technical services Eng Johnson Amayo urged the contractor to carry out adequate pressure testing of the new pipeline to guard against leaks and bursts.
Project consultant David Gaunt committed to delivering quality work on time and said the network was being built to last. "We are looking at a project that will last over 50 years," he said. He commended the contractor, Sogea Satom, which he said was renowned internationally for durable projects.
Alex Gisagara, NWSC's senior director for engineering services, said the corporation had built internal capacity to manage and maintain the new infrastructure once it is handed over. "Our team is already handling the Katosi and Kagera water works, which are new. Once Katosi Package 2B is done, our team is ready to effectively manage and maintain the system," he said. He added that the project, which began early last year, was progressing well, with about 25 of the roughly 70 kilometres of transmission mains already laid and all sites well mobilised.
Formally the Rehabilitation, Restructuring, Rezoning and Extension of the GKMA Water Supply Network Project, Package 2B is being financed principally by the French Development Agency (AFD), with support from the European Union, the European Investment Bank and Germany's KfW. It is being built by Sogea Satom under the supervision of the ARTELIA–Gauff Association, at a contract value of about €92.4 million.
The works involve laying roughly 70 kilometres of transmission mains, building three reservoirs — a 10-million-litre concrete tank at Kanyanya, a 3.89-million-litre steel tank at Kabulengwa and a one-million-litre steel tank at Mutungo — and constructing booster stations at Kungu and Kabulengwa, alongside an upgrade of the Kampala Water SCADA control system.
The project began in February 2025 and is now about 35% complete overall, according to NWSC. The Kungu booster station is the most advanced component at about 70%, followed by the Kabulengwa booster station at 65% and the Mutungo reservoir at 55%, while pipe-laying is around a third complete. All components are scheduled for completion in 2027.
NWSC says residents will see relief before then. A 7.7-kilometre bulk pipeline running from Namugongo through Bulindo, Nsasa and Mulawa to the Kira–Kasangati road is due to be ready from December 2026, bringing improved supply to Namugongo, Kira, Buwaate, Bulindo, Mulawa, Kasangati and surrounding areas ahead of full completion.
Once finished, the corporation says the upgraded network will serve dozens of communities across Wakiso, Kakiri, Gayaza, Nansana, Kanyanya, Luteete and Matugga, extending supply to areas including Kira, Kasangati, Gayaza, Matugga, Kawempe, Nansana and Wakiso town.
The push comes as Greater Kampala's population surges. Wakiso and Kampala districts together hold more than 5.2 million people, according to the 2024 National Population and Housing Census, with Wakiso now the country's most populous district — growth NWSC says has placed sustained strain on infrastructure that was unevenly distributed and, in places, ageing.
