World Bank loans Uganda $145m to develop oil region

The World Bank and the Ugandan government on Monday signed a 145 million U.S. dollar financing agreement to fast track development in the country's oil region.

The funds to be released under a five year Albertine Region Sustainable Development Project will finance access to infrastructure, markets and skills development in western Uganda bordering eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The project according to the bank will also provide bursaries to about 600 students to develop skills that might allow them to find employment in the region, including in agro-processing, construction, tourism and nursing.

Uganda has so far discovered 6.5 million barrels of oil in the western part of the country. The commercial production of oil, expected to start in 2018, will fast track the country's economic development.

Uganda's economy is the third largest in the East African region that brings together Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.