Uganda to build its first car plant
Uganda is set to build its first ever automobile assembly plant. This comes as part of an agreement with China, which will also see the construction of a dedicated industrial park.
The $600 million park, in Kapeeka, Nakaseke district, will host up to 50 industries and will cover nearly five kilometres once it becomes fully operational in 2020. The Uganda Liao Shen Industrial Park is a venture co-invested in and managed by Zhong Da Group and Zhang’s Group. Zhang Hao is the chairman of Future Electronic Co. Ltd.
According to the park’s investment manual, infrastructure construction will be complete by the end of the year to pave the way for the first 10 enterprises. These will include an automobile assembling, electronics, tools and machinery, agro-processing, beef processing and packaging and animal feeds processing plants.
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The first phase of the park construction will cover 2.6 square kilometres of the 4.6 square kilometres available for the project. It is estimated that 10,000 direct jobs will be provided.
According to Uganda’s President, Yoweri Museveni, the development of the park will speed up the industrialisation processes of Uganda, while creating jobs and widening the country’s tax-base.
He said: “Ugandans are used to traditional industrial towns, but my task is to teach you the importance of industrial parks. China has industrial trading towns, which produce more value products and employ more.”
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SOURCE: [New Vision]
