Israeli company Shikun & Binui has secured a $309m contract to build an airport in the African country of Uganda.
The project will be located in a rural area of the oil-drilling region near Hoima and Lake Albert in northwestern Uganda.
Under the terms of the contract, Shikun & Binui’s international construction arm SBI will construct the airport, which is intended to support the development of the region’s oil industry.
The construction is expected to be completed in three years, with the $309m to be paid to SBI over the course of the work.
The project will be financed by the British government through the UK Export Finance (UKEF) of the Export Credits Guarantee Department and by a commercial bank.
The project will include paving of 3.5km of runways, earthwork and drainage activities, building electro-mechanical, communications and navigation systems, setting up of a cargo terminal, an air traffic control tower and additional residential and service structures.
In the future, the Ugandan government is likely to use the facility as the country’s second international airport.
Shikun & Binui chairman Moshe Lahmani said: “The selection of Shikun & Binui to carry out this project confirms, once again, the superb reputation that SBI enjoys in Africa – a reputation based on its proven operational capabilities, its deep understanding of the local work environment, and its commitment to comply with the most stringent international standards.
“For the past several years, we have been pursuing the twin goals of expanding our activities in the countries in which we currently do business, while also penetrating into high-potential new markets. Every project like this that we secure is a ‘fact on the ground’ that demonstrates the success of our efforts.”
Shikun & Binui CEO Yuval Dagim said: “Uganda’s selection of SBI demonstrates once again the high level of trust that we have earned from our clients in Africa – their confidence in our ability to build complete complex engineering infrastructure projects with a high degree of success and efficiency.
“This project adds to the long list of projects that we have carried out in the past – and that we will continue to carry out in the future – to improve the infrastructure of developing countries.”
