The property is located five kilometres from the port of Mombasa.
The 21,000 square-metre plot, managed by UPHL, has a capacity for 3,500 vehicles, and has been used as holding yard for imports since 2013.
This is the second time the Ugandan government is attempting to lease the property, after the process was suspended in March 2016.
The property had been put on hold after Kenya implemented a new land law in 2016 that prohibits foreigners from owning property near territorial borders.
The government of Uganda has once again put up its car depot in Mombasa for lease.
The 21,000 square-metre plot, managed by Uganda Property Holdings Ltd (UPHL), has a capacity for 3,500 vehicles, and has been used as holding yard for imports since 2013.
This is the second time the Ugandan government is attempting to lease the property, after the process was suspended in March 2016.
“We have a newly built yard to let, and interested customers can inspect the yard from 8am to 5pm working days only. Bids should be sent by March 20, 2020,” reads a section of the advertisement published in local media this past week.
The property had been put on hold after Kenya implemented a new land law in 2016 that prohibits foreigners from owning property near territorial borders. The property is located five kilometres from the port of Mombasa.
Muhammad Swazuri, the Kenya National Land Commission chairman at the time, had said that Uganda could lose the property once the lease expired after the Land Law Amendment 2016 came into force, and would only be allowed to continue owning it on leasehold terms.
In the spirit of the East African Community, Uganda negotiated with Kenya to be allowed to own the property.
However, the depot was among others earmarked for demolition by the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA), to pave the way for the construction of a dual highway connecting the island of Mombasa with the western mainland in Changamwe.
The announcement by KeNHA resulted in the formation of an inter-ministerial task force of Kenyan and Ugandan teams, which resolved that the initial road designs should be changed.
According to sources within UPHL, leasing the depot has also been attributed to failing to break even. The management has been complaining of unfavourable licence terms that are eating into their profits.
UPHL had initially asked to be allowed to handle both domestic and transit vehicles, but has only been given permission to handle the latter.
The idea for the depot was fronted in 2003, to handle vehicles bound for Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, DR Congo and Burundi.