General Wamala commissions MV Palm, the biggest ferry in Uganda

The Minister of Transport and Works General Katumba Wamala on Saturday commission MV Palm the biggest ferry in Uganda now.

The state-of-the-art vessel accommodates 519 seated passengers and  25 cars. The ferry will be  connecting Buikwe  and Buvuma districts.

Buvuma District chairperson Adrian Ddungu highlighted that procurement of the new ferry followed complaints from islanders that their agricultural produce was taking long to reach markets on the mainland due to perennial transport challenges.

“Very many people were risking their lives on small boats as the previous ferry would sometimes get mechanical problems. The old ferry was big enough but had a capacity of 200 passengers and 12 vehicles,”” he noted.

But now, MV Palm ferry takes 15 minutes to dock which Ddungu says is quicker and will ease movement by water across Buvuma’s 53 islands that have long suffered from transport issues.

Ugandan National Roads Authority (Unra) head of ferry services Herbert Mutyaba said the new vessel will be connecting the two islands to Buikwe District with four routes on Mondays and Fridays, three from Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday and an additional two on Sundays.



Plans are underway to evaluate and remove the old ferry from the area, according to Uganda’s works minister Gen Katumba Wamala who also promised that government will avail a similar vessel for Kalalangala islanders.