ENTEBBE: A year after a Dubai-based company pledged to provide Uganda with seven cargo aircraft to boost agricultural exports via Uganda Air Cargo Company, the planes are yet to arrive, leaving exporters and industry players questioning the future of a project once touted as a game changer for the country’s air freight sector.
In June 2025, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Bin Jumah Al Maktoum, a member of the United Arab Emirates royal family, announced plans to deliver the aircraft through his company, Alpha MBM Investments LLC.
The proposed deal generated excitement within Uganda’s export industry. The aircraft were expected to transport fresh produce, fish and flowers to international markets while reducing the country’s dependence on foreign airlines for cargo services. The company also promised to establish modern cold storage facilities at Entebbe to support exporters.
At the time, officials indicated that one Boeing 737 freighter had already been brought into the country and that the remaining six aircraft would be delivered within weeks.
However, 12 months later, the promised fleet has not materialised.
The delay has left exporters wondering whether the ambitious plan to position Uganda as a regional cargo and logistics hub is still on course.
The absence of the aircraft comes at a time when the government is pursuing a separate strategy to strengthen the country’s aviation sector through Uganda Airlines.
Earlier this month, Uganda Airlines signed a Shs3.7 trillion agreement with American aircraft manufacturer Boeing to acquire 10 new aircraft, including two dedicated cargo freighters—a Boeing 767 converted freighter and a Boeing 737 converted freighter.
The national carrier’s cargo expansion programme is intended to provide direct and affordable freight services to regional and international markets. However, the cargo aircraft ordered under the Uganda Airlines deal are also not expected to arrive immediately because of long manufacturing queues and global supply chain disruptions affecting aircraft deliveries.
For now, Ugandan exporters remain heavily reliant on foreign airlines such as Ethiopian Airlines, Emirates and Qatar Airways to transport perishable goods to overseas markets.
Industry players have repeatedly argued that dedicated cargo aircraft would lower transportation costs, increase export volumes and reduce post-harvest losses by ensuring timely delivery of produce.
Uganda’s ambitions to become a regional logistics and export hub have featured prominently in government policy discussions, with President Yoweri Museveni frequently emphasising the need for the country to control its logistics chain, particularly for agricultural exports.
Yet, one year after the highly publicised announcement by the Dubai company, the promised cargo planes remain out of sight, and exporters continue to wait for the air freight capacity that was expected to usher in a new era for Uganda’s export trade.
