Madhvani wants more 21,300 hectares for Amuru sugar project

_______________

Madhvani Group of Companies has requested Amuru district leadership to fast-track the process of getting them more land to start the Amuru Sugar Works Ltd project.

According to Mayur Madhvani, a Joint managing director of the Madhvani Group, they need an additional 21,300 hectares on top of the over 8,000 hectares they have in Amuru before the sugar project kicks off.

Mayur requested while meeting Amuru district leadership at Kakira Sugar Limited (KSL) in Kakira Estate in Jinja district. Mayur was accompanied by his brother, Kamlesh Madhvani, also a joint managing director of the Madhvani Group, director of corporate Affairs K.P Eswar, director Jim Kabeho and KSL’s process manager Wilfred Pacoto, among others.

“We need the Amuru district local government and central government to work with us to get the title of the remaining 1,300 hectares which is part of the nucleus land, get 10,000 hectares and another 10,000 hectares for the farmers plus their titles,” Madhvani said.  

He added that the Amuru sugar project will have 20,000 nucleus land and outgrower farmers will have 10,000 hectares. According to him, once the land issue is sorted, they will distribute the 10,000 hectares among large-scale farmers whom they will identify.

“Once we establish the land, the next step is to start the project—we have contractors who have bigger equipment who will come to Amuru to start the project because we want to clear some of the land and start planting sugarcane,” Madhvani said.

He explained that to start the first crushing of sugarcane in Amuru, they need 3,500 tonnes of sugarcane which is equivalent to 350 tata trucks of sugarcane to be crushed daily adding that at Kakira Sugar Ltd in Jinja, they crush between 7,000 to 7,500 tonnes of sugarcane daily and large-scale farmers are getting money out of the business.  

KSL's Joint Managing Directors, Mayur Madhvani (L) and Kamlesh Madhvani (2nd L) chatting with Amuru RDC Geoffrey Ocen Osbon (R) and the Amuru district LCV chairperson, Michael Lakony (M), while at Kakira Sugar Limited in Jinja. (Photo by Donald Kiirya)

The sugar project

Madhvani said the Amuru Sugar Works will also have an integrated sugar plant; a bagasse-based Cogeneration plant to produce renewable electricity; a distillery unit to process syrup/molasses to produce Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) for portable spirits and Anhydrous Ethanol for blending with automotive petrol; an effluent treatment system for the complex and supporting infrastructure required for the operations of (ASWL) and its employees which will include schools, hospitals, housing and roads among others.

Cost of project and production parameters

The Amuru Sugar Works Ltd will be implemented in phases with a total projected investment of $235m (about sh873b) and approximately 5,000 individuals will be eventually employed with benefits of housing, free electricity, education and medical.

He said that during phase one, the sugar complex will produce about 74,000 tonnes of sugar per annum exporting about 100 GWH (16 MW per hour) of power to the state grid per annum and about 9 million litres of ENA/Bio-ethanol.

After the implementation of both Phases, the sugar complex will produce about 100,000 tons of sugar per annum, exporting about 150 GWH (25 MW per hour) of power and 12 million litres of ENA/Bio-Ethanol.

Amuru district chairperson, Micheal Lakony, welcomed the Amuru Sugar Works project and requested the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) to give Madhvani the remaining 1,300 hectares and that the problem is not on their side as a district.

Lakony said Acholi region has the highest poverty index in the country and the sugar project would bail people out of poverty.

Amuru Resident District Commissioner, Geoffrey Ocen Osbon, said he was happy that they will have both unskilled and skilled people to be employed in the Amuru Sugar Works project.

“Amuru district released a title in May last year but we wonder why transferring names on the title is taking more than a year—we need to know who is delaying issues of the title and we follow up with them,” Osbon said.

UDC’s liaison officer, Col Dr Francis Ongia, said the Uganda Land Commission has secured a land title for over 8,000 hectares of land designated for the project

Next steps

Ongia said a land transfer of 10,000 hectares was done by October 2024, feasibility study; environmental and social impact assessment and the agricultural development plan will all be done by March 31, 2025.

He added that project site establishment at Amuru is expected to be done by September 30, 2025; feasibility and detailed project report by June 30, 2025; bid documents preparation for procurement by August 31; and financial closure and contract finalization by December 31, 2025.