ROKO Construction Ltd has pushed the completion date for the new Parliament building to the end of 2027, nearly a decade after construction of the Shs 179 billion project began.
The project, located on Shimoni Road in Kampala, was commissioned in 2018 to ease congestion at the current parliamentary building and provide additional space for legislators, offices, visitors and other parliamentary activities.
ROKO initially projected that the building would be completed in 2020. Andy Sonnet, then head engineer of the project, said at the time that construction would be completed within the set timeline.
However, the project has suffered repeated delays, with Parliament leadership attributing the slow progress largely to funding challenges and, more recently, mounting pressure on the contractor to accelerate the works.
The original project cost of Shs 179 billion has also increased. In 2019, the Solicitor General approved changes to the design, including increasing the building from eight to nine floors to accommodate additional facilities, including a museum. The revised cost was put at Shs 206 billion.
The new parliamentary complex is expected to include a chamber capable of accommodating more than 600 legislators, compared with the current chamber, which has a much smaller seating capacity.
Other planned facilities include a museum, a modern archiving centre, a gallery and expanded office space for parliamentary staff and legislators.
In February 2024, Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa said the new parliamentary chambers were expected to be completed by September 2025.
However, that deadline was missed, with the project still at the roofing stage nearly three years after the announcement.
In 2024, Tayebwa, accompanied by Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi, inspected the construction site to assess progress and express concern over the slow pace of work.
“The major aim of the inspection was to assess the progress of the works and express concern with the slow pace of the construction,” Tayebwa said at the time.
The latest deadline now places completion of the multi-billion-shilling project by the end of 2027, following renewed pressure from Parliament leadership on ROKO to speed up construction.
According to an engineer from ROKO Construction, the new chamber is being designed to accommodate more than 600 MPs, in a move intended to address overcrowding in the existing parliamentary building.
The new chambers will also provide expanded facilities for visitors, journalists and distinguished guests, creating more space for parliamentary business and public access.
Speaker Jacob Markson Oboth Oboth, Tayebwa, Ssenyonyi and other parliamentary officials have recently visited the construction site to assess progress and receive an update from the contractor.
During the inspection, Parliament leadership emphasised the need for ROKO to accelerate the works and ensure that the project is delivered within the revised timeframe.
The repeated changes to the completion dates have raised concerns about the project’s prolonged construction period and increasing costs, as Parliament continues to operate from facilities that have come under pressure from the growing number of legislators and parliamentary activities.
The 2027 deadline is now the latest target for completion of the project, with Parliament leadership expected to closely monitor the contractor’s progress in an effort to ensure that the new building is finally delivered.
