Hoima International Airport, also Kabaale International Airport, is an airport under construction in Uganda. It is part of the infrastructure under construction as Uganda prepares to develop its nascent petroleum industry. When completed, it would be Uganda's second international airport, besides Entebbe International Airport. The new airport is expected to facilitate mobilization of equipment for construction of the Uganda Oil Refinery and assist in the development of agriculture and tourism in Uganda's Western Region.
Location
Hoima Airport is located in Kabaale Parish, Buseruka sub-county, Hoima District in the Western Region of Uganda, near the Kaiso-Tonya oil fields and the Uganda Oil Refinery. The air distance between the general area where the airport is being built and Entebbe International Airport, Uganda's largest civilian and military airport, is about. Kabaale International Airport would sit on. The location of Hoima International Airport is approximately, by road, to the west-northwest of the city of Hoima. The elevation of Kabaale Village is, above sea level.
Overview
This airport would be a large international airport capable of handling large passenger and cargo aircraft, sufficient to carry the equipment and staff to develop the Uganda Oil Refinery and the oilfields. The airport's main runway was expected to measure in length. Later, the length of the runway was lengthened to. As of February 2016, feasibility studies and the impact assessment evaluation were ongoing. Construction was expected to begin in 2017, led by a consortium made up of Colas Limited of the United Kingdom and SBI, a Ugandan construction company. In January 2018, the UK lenders were identified as Standard Chartered Bank with guarantees from the United Kingdom Export Finance, with the two expected to lend €307 million.
Construction
In February 2018, the government of Uganda selected Shikun & Binui, a construction firm based in Israel to construct this airport, at a cost of US$309 million. The construction which will be undertaken by Solel Boneh International Holdings, the international arm of Shikun & Binui, is expected to last three years. The scope of work includes paving of runways carrying out of earthwork and installing drainage infrastructure pouring of cement and asphalt building of electro-mechanical, communications and navigation systems and erection of an air traffic control tower, a cargo terminal, additional residencies and service structures. SBC Uganda Limited, a joint venture company between Colas Limited of the United Kingdom and SBI International Holdings of Uganda, started construction of the airport in January 2018. The first phase of construction, including the runway and cargo-handling facilities, is expected to be ready in 2020. This phase is primarily to support construction of the oil refinery. The second phase of construction, focused on the facilitation of passengers and boosting tourism and business, is expected to conclude in 2022. The project is expected to create about 1,000 jobs, 30 percent of which are reserved for the local community and the remaining 70 percent reserved for other Ugandans, with a small number taken up by expatriates. Later, the completion of the first phase was pushed back to 2021 As of April 2019, work completed was estimated at 21 percent. In October 2019, completed work had progressed to 31 percent. In December 2019, it was estimated that 34 percent of the work had been completed. At that time, a total of over 925 workers were employed on the project. Completion was estimated to be in February 2023.
