The Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) Tuesday said it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTA) in Kampala.

The PSFU is the apex body for the private sector in Uganda. PSFU has a membership of over 316 business associations and corporate bodies that represent the interests of over 3 million business establishments (Micro, Small, Medium, and Large Enterprises) in Uganda clustered into 12 sectors of the economy. 

On the other hand, the NCTTA is a multimodal trade route linking the landlocked countries of the Great Lakes Region with the Kenyan maritime sea port of Mombasa. The NCTTA facilitates interstate and transit trade between the Member States of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan.

In June 2023, at the Regional Stakeholders Consultative Committee Meeting in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura, the PSFU made presentation titled Private Sector Position on Increasing the Competitiveness of the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency in Uganda.

In the presentation, the PFSU expressed the need for ease of getting port passes and truck passes in time.

“Ugandans with cargo using Mombasa port are in most cases cleared within one day as compared to about two days of cargo clearance at the Port of Dar es Salaam and as a result, the business community would find it convenient to use Mombasa Port as compared to the Port of Dar es Salaam,” PSFU said.

The Ugandans also said the Northern Corridor is cost-effectiveness and efficient. PSFU said that Ugandans transporting cargo to Uganda spend about $4,500 on transport for a container from the Port of Dar es Salaam for 4.5 days as compared to $3,000 from the Port of Mombasa for 3 days.

“As a result, 80% of Uganda’s cargo passes through the Port of Mombasa versus 20% of cargo coming through the Port of Dar es Salaam,” it said.