Uganda, May 19 -- Uganda has awarded a contract to a Belgian firm to reclaim land and dreg the Lake Victoria bed to pave the way for the development of Bukasa port.

The Belgian firm Coil and Coppleters NV JV, has 12 months (upto May 2025 to complete the preparatory works. The Bukasa Port, which was expected to be complete in 2019, has faced delays in procurement after lenders ring-fenced the contract to Belgian firms only, which Uganda found to be expensive.

Uganda placed adverts thrice calling Belgian firms to develop the port, but their offer price remained higher than what the country had planned to spend on the project. The last one was in 2021 and attracted two offers from Belgian construction firms specialising in dredging but bot...