Uganda’s government has signed an MoU with the United Arab Emirates for the construction of an international airport to boost tourism to the underappreciated Kidepo Valley National Park in the northeast of the country.

Signed on Thursday, June 20, the agreement comes after talks between the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Ugandan government departments and agencies, including the Ministry of Works, the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority, the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities and the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Although full details of the new facility are still unclear, the airport is expected to have a 3 500-metre runway able to accommodate wide-body passenger aircraft. At the signing ceremony, SCCI Chairperson, Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, said construction would begin as early as August.

Last year, Uganda’s government identified Kidepo and three other airfields for upgrades that would give them immigration facilities and tarred runways, with the aim of providing more direct air access to national parks. 

Kidepo Valley covers 1 400 sqkm of rugged savannah, dominated by the 2 750m Mount Morungole and transected by the Kidepo and Narus Rivers. In addition to 77 mammal species – including lion, elephant, leopard and buffalo – the park is an important birding safari area, with over 475 species of birds.