The new Mukono 220/132kV substation, a flagship component of the Kampala Metropolitan Transmission System improvement project, is nearing completion and is expected to be launched in February 2026, officials said during a media tour this week.
The project is designed to boost electricity reliability and transmission capacity across Greater Kampala and its surrounding districts.
Project manager Mark Namungo said works on the multimillion-dollar facility are now about 70 percent complete, with full commissioning scheduled for early next year.
‘This substation is an extension and major upgrade of the existing Mukono substation grid – expected to be exhausted in the next 10 years,’ he said on.
Namungo added that the project is intended to increase power transmission capacity and strengthen operational flexibility within the Kampala Metropolitan Area.
‘Once operational, it will provide adequate, reliable and flexible power supply not only to Mukono but to the entire Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area, which includes Wakiso and Mpigi for at least the next 30 years,” he revealed.
The upgraded facility will host three new 200 MVA transformers, adding 600 MVA of transformer capacity to the grid.
Power will be drawn from two major transmission routes – the 132kV Owen Falls-Lugogo line and the Bujagali-Kawanda 220kV line, located about 5km from the substation.
Namungo said the design will ensure greater redundancy. ‘This design means that even if one transmission line is vandalised or fails, Mukono and surrounding areas can immediately be supplied from the alternative route,’ he said, recalling a recent week-long outage caused by vandalism.
He added that the new substation will introduce an additional 220kV ring into a network that already includes rings at 11kV, 33kV and 132kV.
The Mukono extension is part of a $120 million project launched by the government in April 2018 with concessional financing from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The programme also covers upgrades at Kawaala, Mutundwe and Bujagali substations, and the construction of a new facility at Maya.
JICA Uganda’s senior programme officer for economic infrastructure, Ivan Muhame, said Japan’s loans remain highly favourable.
‘All loans extended to Uganda under this framework carry an interest rate of approximately 0.01 percent, with a 40-year repayment period and a 10-year grace period,’ he said.
The Mukono substation sits within the Mukono Industrial Park corridor, home to major manufacturers such as Kampala Cement and Tian Tang Group, as well as the National Water and Sewerage Corporation’s Katosi plant.
Reliable electricity is expected to draw more industrial investment and support growing household demand.
Construction began in February 2024, and authorities say the facility will be energised on schedule.
On Monday, JICA’s Inoue Yoichi said the agency has long stood as ‘a committed partner to Uganda,’ noting cooperation across agriculture, infrastructure, water, health, education and peace-building.