Uganda’s Finance Minister, Henry Musasizi, has said the proposed €31.98 million loan to construct and equip the Mbarara Regional Diagnostic and Oncology Centre is already included in the government’s planned borrowing for the 2026/27 financial year.

Musasizi made the clarification while appearing before Parliament’s Committee on National Economy, which is scrutinising the proposed French loan, including its implications for public debt, procurement conditions and the overall cost of the project.

The minister said the government’s debt projections already account for borrowing planned during the financial year, meaning the proposed loan does not require an additional adjustment to the debt figures previously presented.

“All these loans we acquire within the year are already in our programmed borrowing. So, when we tell you the debt-to-GDP ratio is now at 54%, that projection includes the borrowings within the year,” Musasizi said.

He added that the proposed financing would not have an additional impact on the debt-to-GDP projection already communicated by the government.

The proposed Mbarara Regional Diagnostic and Oncology Centre will cost €33.58 million, comprising a €31.98 million concessional loan from the Government of France and €1.6 million in counterpart funding from the Government of Uganda.

According to the financing brief presented to the parliamentary committee, the loan will have a repayment period of 25 years, including a 10-year grace period, at an annual interest rate of 0.347%.

Musasizi said the financing terms were highly concessional, with the Ministry of Finance’s technical team estimating the grant element at 52%. This is above the ministry’s minimum requirement of 35%, according to the minister.

The project will involve constructing hospital wards, clinical rooms, CT scanning rooms and other supporting facilities. It will also provide for the procurement of MRI and CT scanners, specialised medical equipment and furniture.

The proposed centre will be located at the Kihumuro Campus of Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), within five kilometres of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital.

The development is part of the government’s efforts to decentralise specialised cancer diagnosis and treatment services and reduce the pressure on the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) in Mulago, Kampala.

UCI received 8,764 new cancer patients in 2025, compared with 4,194 in 2015, representing more than a doubling of new patients over the decade. The institute also recorded more than 67,043 outpatient days and 90,732 inpatient days, while bed occupancy exceeded 200%.

Its outpatient clinics attended to nearly 278 patients daily, figures that highlight the demand for specialised cancer services in Uganda.

In Western Uganda, the existing UCI cancer service in Mbarara received 1,306 new patients in 2025 and served people from more than 18 districts across the region.

The proposed regional centre is intended to bring specialised diagnostic services and cancer care closer to patients in Western Uganda, potentially reducing the need for repeated journeys to Kampala for treatment.

Mbarara is part of a broader government programme to expand regional oncology services, alongside the existing centre in Gulu and planned facilities in Arua and Mbale. Construction of the Mbale centre commenced on June 1, 2026, according to the information provided in the project brief.

The proposed financing remains under parliamentary scrutiny as legislators examine the loan terms, procurement arrangements, project costs and implications for Uganda’s public debt.