Massive emergency repair works on some of Kampala's dilapidated roads are due to start on Saturday, one day after the Ugandan government officially announced the country is to hold the Commonwealth Summit late this year.

The Ugandan government has prioritized the coming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held here on November 23- 25, believing the summit would boost the country's economy and tourism sector in particular.

The government is estimated to spend some 70 million U.S. dollars on hosting the summit, which is held every two years and will see over 10,000 delegates visiting the country.

Kampala thus was plunged into a frenzy of hotel building with dozens of construction sites can be sighted in town while the road sector has lagged far behind.

The repairs, which were contracted to four companies, began after the country's Works Ministry took over the work on 49 roads in and around the capital from the Kampala City Council (KCC) weeks ago.

The work is scheduled to begin simultaneously and block certain roads or sections in the process.

"Where need be, they will have to work in the night to reduce on traffic jams and also beat the three-month deadline," Works Minister John Nasasira was quoted by state-owned New Vision on Saturday as saying.

To mitigate traffic jams, the minister announced that a traffic task force, comprising ministry officials, the police and KCC, has been set up.

The emergency repair work, he added, will involve patching up potholes, improving drainage, while in some areas entire sections will be removed and redone.

Source: Xinhua