Uganda’s Pension Fund NSSF Says It Could Fund Kampala-Jinja Expressway

Uganda’s National Social Security Fund could finance the Kampala-Jinja Expressway within two years, its managing director Patrick Ayota has said. The fund is prepared to move once the government delivers guarantees, completes feasibility work and secures the land corridor.

Ayota’s statement, reported by the Daily Monitor on 21 September, turns years of discussion about the road into a concrete domestic financing option. The expressway is estimated at about US$1.2 billion, a scale that would test the fund and the state’s ability to prepare a bankable project.

A Pension Fund Steps Toward a Highway

Patrick Ayota, managing director of Uganda’s National Social Security Fund, said the fund could finance the proposed Kampala-Jinja Expressway within two years. The road is estimated at about US$1.2 billion, while NSSF’s asset base stood at about Shs32.8 trillion (about US$8.5 billion).

Ayota said the fund is prepared to move once the project is investment-ready. He named government guarantees, completed feasibility work and secured right of way as the three conditions that would unlock NSSF money.

NSSF’s 2025/26 contributions reached Shs2.42 trillion (about US$620 million), and its revenue rose to Shs6.51 trillion (about US$1.7 billion). That annual inflow gives the fund enough domestic firepower to consider a project of this scale without waiting for external lenders.

What the Road Would Cost and Who Carries the Risk

The Kampala-Jinja Expressway has been discussed for years under a public-private partnership model. That history explains why financing, guarantees and traffic-revenue assumptions remain central to any deal.

Critics note the project still depends on public-sector preparatory work and risk allocation. NSSF’s willingness to step in does not remove the need for government to deliver the basics first.

For NSSF contributors, the trade-off is clear. Their retirement savings would back a toll road whose returns depend on traffic volumes, toll collection and government guarantees holding up over decades.

Pension Savings as a Domestic Infrastructure Tool

The wider political economy is about using pension savings for domestic infrastructure. Ayota said NSSF is ready to finance projects once they are investment-ready, and reports say the fund has reached an understanding with government.

Government would handle feasibility studies and right of way acquisition before NSSF commits funds, AllAfrica reported. That division of labour keeps the preparatory burden on the state while the pension fund supplies long-term capital.

The fund’s asset base of about Shs32.8 trillion (about US$8.5 billion) gives it room to act. The question is whether the state can match that capacity with the preparatory work a bankable toll road requires.

Why Domestic Money Matters

Large roads in East Africa have usually been financed by foreign development banks, export-credit agencies or Chinese lenders. A local pension fund taking the lead would keep interest payments and control inside Uganda.

CEO.co.ug reported that the fund moved after pressure from President Yoweri Museveni to invest in the road. That raises the question of how independent the fund’s investment decisions are from the government.

What to Watch Next

The next test is whether government delivers the guarantees, feasibility work and right of way that Ayota named. Without those, NSSF’s two-year timeline remains aspirational.

Investors should watch for a formal agreement between NSSF and the government. Reports already point to a deal on the expressway, but the terms of tolling, risk-sharing and construction timelines have not been made public.

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