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KAMPALA, May 4 (Reuters) – Uganda’s foreign exchange reserves rose 69.7% in the 12 months to January, supported in part by strong foreign direct investment inflows into the oil sector, the central bank said in a report.

The East African nation’s foreign reserves rose to $5.6 billion as at end January, up from $3.3 billion at the end of the same month last year, Bank of Uganda said in a report seen by Reuters on Monday.

Uganda expects to commence commercial crude production this year and ahead of that, oil firms France’s Total and China’s CNOOC, who operate the oil fields, have been undertaking investments in key infrastructure such as pipelines and drilling wells.

The central bank said in the report that Uganda’s public debt had surged by 21.2% to 130.2 trillion Ugandan shillings ($34.77 billion) at end January compared with the same period last year.

It said high debt service and exposure to external debt are gradually constraining fiscal space to absorb economic shock and adverse occurrence could heighten the risk of debt distress. ($1 = 3,745.0000 Ugandan shillings)