THE Indian government, through the Exim Bank of India, has given Uganda a $350m soft loan for the construction of a power dam at Isimba on River Nile.
“This is one of the initiatives by the Government to ensure that there is enough power supply in the country,” Prof. Semakula Kiwanuka, the investment state minister, said.
Uganda has been hard hit by electricity supply shortages.
He disclosed that the works on the project would start this year.
He was speaking to the trade delegation from India.
The delegation is in Uganda to seek joint partnerships and investment opportunities.
Kiwanuka explained that the Government was also giving incentives to investors in rural areas.
“The only problem with our rural areas is the poor infrastructure that includes power shortages and poor road network because you cannot trade if you can not transport your products,” he said.
“That is why we negotiated for a soft loan with the Government of India to develop a power dam at Isimba.”
Kiwanuka added: “We would also like to link up with Indian universities because there are areas where they are competitive like in financing, banking and financial services.”
He said the Government was reviewing the investment code that was drawn 20 years ago in order to improve the investment climate.
“We want it to reflect the current trends in investment,” the minister said.
Himanshu Kapoor, the HCL Infosystems international business manager, said his organisation was seeking joint ventures.
He also disclosed that he would talk to the Government over a $6m project for computers and information technology laboratories to all schools in the country.
“Our first target is to have presence in the Ugandan market and the future plan is to build a computer manufacturing plant,” Kapoor said.
