The finance state minister for planning, Amos Lugoloobi, has said the planned public free zone in Kaweweta, Nakaseke District, is projected to create over 211,000 direct jobs and contribute $2.1b (about sh7.9 trillion) to Uganda’s export earnings annually. 

Free zones are designated areas in Uganda where duty-free goods are stored, manufactured and or processed for export. 

Uganda free zones 

Authority says all domestic and foreign investors who export 80% and more of their enterprise output are eligible to invest in free zones. 

He said this on Thursday, January 25, during the first inter-ministerial committee meeting he convened on the development of the special economic zone. 

The minister said it will be the first large-scale multi-modal special economic zone in Uganda and also expected to be the largest in eastern, central and southern Africa. 

“President Yoweri Museveni allocated 44.6 square kilometres of land in Kaweweta for the development of a government free zone,” he said, according to a finance ministry statement on X.  

Lugoloobi noted that free zones are helping to address the trade deficit and promote investment in manufacturing and agro-processing, hence boosting Uganda's exports. 

Over 10, 000 jobs have already been created by 17 factories in the Liao Shen Industrial Park in Kapeeka sub-county. Liao Shen Industrial Park covers 600 acres and it is projected to house 80 factories by 2025, with several Chinese investors rallying over $600m to inject into the park. 

The fast-growing business hub stretches to five parishes of Kapeeka, covering a population of over 43, 000, including other Ugandans who have migrated to the area to tap into the opportunities that the industrial park offers, especially jobs.