KAMPALA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth has rebounded to 6.1 percent in the 2017-18 financial year, up from the previou one's 3.9 percent, the World Bank said in an update released on Tuesday.
The bank, in its 12th Uganda Economic Update, said the recovery is stronger than the 5.5 percent that was projected in the previous Economic Update, which was released in May 2018.
The recovery is attributed to a rebound in food crop production and an unexpected and sudden pickup in private sector credit in the second half of the 2017-18 financial year, which ended on June 30.
The global financial institution said the real GDP growth is projected to rise by 4 percentage points in the 2019-20 financial year, up from the 6 percent in the 2018-19 financial year.
The growth will be driven by intensified public and private investments in renewable energy projects like the Karuma and Isimba hydro power plants, and investments to prepare for oil production by 2023.
Investments to prepare for oil production include 600 km of oil roads, the construction of a refinery in Hoima, and the oil pipeline to Tanga in Tanzania.
Additional capital outlays include other critical road projects such as the Kampala-Jinja highway, as well as power transmission and distribution networks to special economic zones and rural growth centers.
The World Bank, however, warned that if the recent political tensions were to escalate, they would impede private investment and hinder economic activity.
Reliance on rain-fed and subsistence agriculture also remains a downside risk to real GDP growth, it said.
