Chinese Government provides $5 million for State House Renovation Project

In November 2004, the 23rd Metallurgical Construction Group Co Ltd of Minmetals officially began the renovation of Uganda’s State House in Entebbe. It had previously signed a $33.07 million construction contract with Uganda’s Ministry of Engineering, Housing and Communications on August 2, 2004 for Phase 1 of the State House Renovation Project. The new state house was officially commissioned on November 14, 2007, just in time for the Commonwealth Summit, at a final cost of $93 million. The originally expected project completion date was August 2006. The luxurious complex overlooks Entebbe International Airport and the world's second largest freshwater body Lake Victoria. Various reports indicate that the project was at least partially funded by a $5 million grant or interest-free loan from the Chinese Government. One anonymous source said: "The Chinese asked the government to tell them how much renovating State House would cost and what Uganda can afford. They also offered to finance the balance."

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Uganda Presidential Palace Reconstruction Project. The Chinese project title is 乌干达总统府重建工程 or 乌干达总统府 or 总统府重建项目一期工程 or 建的乌干达总统府重建工程项目. 2. One source indicates that 12% of the total construction cost (about $3.5 million) was financed with an overseas project contracting loan to 23rd Metallurgical Construction Group Co Ltd of Minmetals. This issue merits further investigation. 3. The Project Manager was Henry Kazahuura.

Number of official sources

8

Number of total sources

19