Source of the Nile to turn into a world class tourism site after new facelift

The source of the Nile in Jinja is set to get a facelift that will turn it into a world class tourism site, officials have said.

Speaking on Wednesday, Jimmy Andrew Kigozi, a senior tourism officer at the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities revealed that they are in the final stages of awarding the contract to the developer by the end of this financial year and that  the development process will soon commence.

“Currently, there are few activities people can enjoy at the Nile  like eating fish, and boat cruises. We want to develop the place into a first world-class tourist site, so that when tourists come here, there are several activities they can enjoy, stay longer, spend more, thus boosting our revenue, and economy,” Kigozi said during a stakeholder sensitization meeting for the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) study for the acquisition of land for the  project held at Source of the Nile Hotel-Jinja .

Kigozi revealed that the development involves constructing quality modern facilities at the Nile which will greatly improve the visitor experience.

“Some of the facilities will include a modern pier, a Nile civilization village, an aquarium, play facilities for children, Zipline, a modern cruise, a living museum, modern parking, restaurants, and accommodation among others.”

The official from Ministry of tourism said  a census was carried out, and the source of the Nile ranked the highest among sites that should be developed because it has the potential to attract a number of tourists coming to Uganda.

He applauded Strategic Friends International (SFI), for a great job done in developing a Master Plan and Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Source of the Nile Area.

Whereas it  was badly bartered by the Covid pandemic, Uganda’s tourism sector has steadily recovered and official data shows that the country earned shs2.7 trillion from tourism in 2022 representing 12.2% of the total exports for the country.

Among the many places that Uganda’s visitors go to is Jinja City also known as the adventure city which is home to the source of the Nile and Nyege Nyege music festival among other great attractions.

Henry Kitambula, the Jinja Deputy Resident District Commissioner said as leaders, they are in total support of the project.

He explained that through the development of these infrastructures, more jobs will be created for the people of Jinja City, and Buikwe district, and many others will be able to supply goods and services thus improving their social-economic status.

“Whoever visits the Nile the first time, they wonder why they came. The only thing you see is people eating fish and those on boat cruises. Nothing else attracts people but if it is well developed, it can attract many more tourists than it does now,” he said

He asked the leaders both at local and district levels to mobilize their communities and give them the right information on what the project is all about, and what they stand to gain, adding that if people are not well informed, the project will suffer setbacks.

The Uganda Tourism Board chairman, Daudi Migereko, asked those who are responsible for the project to move faster.

“The pace at which we do things in this country is not good, and we have to change. Plans to transform this place have been ongoing for way too long. This is an appeal to the consultants and the Ministry of Tourism! Can we move faster, we want to see things on the ground taking off. The willingness of the people to support the project will be greatly enhanced when they see action,” Migereko said.

Dr. Kosea Wambaka, the Head of Party and Programmes at Strategic Friends International (SFI) who is the  team leader for the Source of the Nile development project said 3kms have been demarcated for this project right from the source of the Nile.

He explained that the firm is soon starting to carry out social-economic, and cadastral surveys to compensate all those who will be affected by the project.

Dr. Wambaka assured everyone that the project will be very transparent and that those affected by the project will be adequately compensated in this  plan.