KAMPALA, June 22, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Uganda has signed an agreement with Sharjah to build a second international airport near a national park in the northeast, the transport minister told AFP Friday.

"An MOU was signed between the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and the government for the construction of Kidepo International airport in Karamoja region," Edward Katumba Wamala said.

"The construction works are starting August," the minister said, without specifying the cost or the duration of the project.

Uganda's presidency said in a statement Friday that the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry had also "agreed to... construct tourist hotels within Kidepo National Park to boost the tourism sector and the economy of Uganda."

Tourism Minister Tom Butime told AFP that once completed, the airport would enable travellers to approach "the heart of our tourism hotspots", instead of landing at the country's only international airport at Entebbe and spending long hours on the road.

"Tourists (will) have an option of flying into Kidepo international airport and into the nearby Kidepo National Park, then into Murchison Falls and other parks without going through Entebbe", Butime said.