Earlier this month on the 3rd of April, Ole Reider Bergum, Minister Counselor/ Deputy Head of Mission – Royal Norwegian Embassy in Uganda, on his Twitter handle, announced that Kampala is projected to grow by 112% from now until 2035, making it the world’s third fastest growing city, with a population of 4M.
“A beautiful morning in Kampala, the 3rd fastest growing city in the world, Kampala has a population of over 4 million , and is projected to grow by 112% from now until 2035. Sustainable urban planning and Multi-level public transport system is key, time to consider underground metro,” tweeted Bergum.
World Economic Forum on Cities and Urbanization, which used data from the UN press release of 2017, reported that the 15 fastest-growing cities in the world by population are all located in Africa, and each one is projected to have almost doubled its population by 2035, according to the report.
“Kampala, Uganda, has an estimated 2020 population of 3,928,000 and is projected to grow by 112% to 7,004,000 in 2035,” UN press release stated.
It was stated by Judy Rugasira Kyanda, Country Manager at Knight Frank, that Kampala is one of the fastest growing countries in the world, owing to the demographics of the country and the growth of the population in Kampala.
“As a result of an increase in the middle class, growing consumerism and disposable incomes, as well as the migration of foreign investors from Southern Africa to East Africa, we have seen that there has been an improvement in investment appetite as investors look for more growth areas,” Kyanda said.
The liberalization of the economy in 1986 contributed substantially to Uganda’s accelerated economic growth and it has experienced average annual growth of over 6% in the past 30 years. It is estimated that the city generates about 60% of Uganda’s GDP because of its vibrant population and urban growth rate of 5.2%. There are approximately 4 million people in the city at the moment.
With continued peace, stabiltiy and economic freedom, Kampala will continue to grow and develop therefore, the need for urban planning and development is urgent.
As Bergum suggested, one of the best ways to improve infrastructure development in Uganda will be to build underground metros that will ease transportation and reduce congestion in the city.
With the development happening in Kampala City right now, one would not be wrong to assume that an underground metro is in the immediate future for the city.
