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In a bid to fight escalating unemployment in the country government launched the Sino-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park project that will create 25,000 jobs directly.

Speaking ahead of the commissioning and launching of new 16 factories at the Industrial Park today, Morrison Rwakakamba the Chairman Board of Directors Uganda Investments Authority said that the park has a capacity of 60 factories, adding that “this is an opportunity for us to employ our people and improve our manufacturing capacity.

He said that over 5,000 Ugandans are already employed at the different factories at the park, especially in Pearl Light Technologies which manufactures LED bulbs, Ubon Personal Care which manufactures washing detergent, and Victoria Cables (electric cables), Kyoga Textiles (making socks).

He noted that while creating jobs, the government will also be saving by manufacturing several products the country has been importing.

“Mbale Industrial Prak is on 619 acres of land about 5000 Ugandans are already employed at the different factories in the park. The new factories will be into manufacturing of clothing, metal shells production, production of tempered glass, furniture, paint led bulbs, cables and wires, diapers,” Rwakakamba noted.

He a that the existing ones are already manufacturing television sets, electric meters, phones, bed covers blankets, and most of the other things we used to import.

“At full capacity, the industrial park will employ over 25000 people directly and many more will be employed indirectly,” he noted.

He further revealed that the government also approved money for infrastructure development in the different industrial parks across the country totaling $11Om to take care of industrial roads, electricity, industrial waste treatment, and fashioning the parks as premier parks in the country.

Evelyn Anite the state minister for Investment at Privatization recently revealed that the government has already secured enough land from across the country for the development of 25 industrial parks to boost industrialization.

“We have secured enough land around the country from the local governments to push the industrialization agenda of the president in the country. We have already acquired land titles and currently, we are doing feasibility studies before we start construction. In every sub-region, which makes a zone; there is going to be an industrial park. That makes it 20 zones, plus the ones in the capital city, there will be a total of 25 parks,” she said.

She added that the construction of industrial parks is intentionally to attract investors to put up industries that will provide several jobs to unemployed Ugandans.

“My job is to attract investors both local and foreign. As we encourage these investors to come in, we expect them to come into manufacturing,” she added.

The industrial parks will focus on value addition in agricultural products and minerals to scale up export promotion and reduce import substitution.

According to Robert Mukiza the Director General of Uganda Investments Authority, President Museveni directed that the 25 industrial parks be built by 2025.

Land for industrial parks has been provided free by local governments across the country; the land is unencumbered and will be provided free to investors.

With the increased raw materials across the country, there will be enough feedstock to meet the demands of the various industries in the industrial parks.

“We have been exporting a lot of our agricultural produce and minerals in raw form, and we want to ensure that we process these raw materials and benefit from the full value chain of our resources. Implementing the industrial park agenda will be aimed at addressing this anomaly,” he said.

Development of industrial parks speaks to the perspective Vision 2040 which seeks to achieve a “Transformed Ugandan society from a peasant to modern and prosperous country within 30 years” as well as the overall strategic goal of National Development Plan III themed “Increased Household Incomes and Improved Quality of Life”.

Industrial park development is also in line with the objective of the Public Investment Management for Agro-Industrialization (PIMA) strategy which aims at increasing sustainable production, productivity, and value addition in key growth areas by developing industrial parks strategically and equitably across the country around specific areas of production and supply chains.