Tororo district is set to get another industrial park with an investment worth $150m (about sh581b).

The development is expected to provide jobs to Ugandans, especially to the youth in Tororo to reduce the unemployment rate.

The Industrial park that will sit on 70 acres is called Tororo Oriental Industrial and Business Park.

The breaking of the ground for the construction of 10 factories in it was done by the privatisation state minister Evelyn Anite, who was accompanied by Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) chairperson Morrison Rwakakamba, at Asinge B zone, Asinge parish in Kayoro sub-county, Tororo district on Wednesday.

Ten companies are ready to start industrialisation in Tororo, including Guangzhou Maoyuan Electronic Technology Co Ltd, Granvista Steel Construction Co Ltd, Orion Electric Company Ltd, Seener Electricals Uganda Ltd, Silicon Materials Technology Uganda Ltd, Silicon Mining Uganda and Wuqu Enterprises (SMC) Ltd.  

They are expected to manufacture products such as steel, transformers, radios, transformer cables, add value to cereals, do mining and manufacture cement.

The State Minister of Finance, Investment and Privatisation Evelyn Anite (middle) performing the groundbreaking exercise with Chinese investors for the construction of Tororo Oriental Industrial and Business park at Asinget A village, Kayoro sub-county in Tororo district on Wednesday. Photo by Donald Kiirya

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Anite said that as part of the Government’s commitment to investors, it will make sure that they have reliable and affordable electricity at 5 cents, water at an affordable rate of shillings 2,500 per unit, provide security and will work on internal road network adding that infrastructural development is their responsibility.  

“Operational industrial parks are 11 and currently we have 18,500 factories in the country. Our target is to establish 25 industrial parks across the country,” she said.

“As you know industrialisation is a big contributor to the GDP, as we speak now-industrialisation under manufacturing contributes 16% to the GDP,” Anite said.

She specified that Namanve Industrial Park alone provides 22,000 jobs adding that it is helping in the promotion of the government’s strategy of creating jobs and industrialisation.

Rwakakamba said: “We shall act quickly to see that this industrial park is fully serviced with industrial water, electricity and incentives that will allow them to build quickly, employ people and put this industrial park into work”.

 Tororo district LC5 vice-chairperson Rebecca Akumu warned the residents against stealing building materials for investors and urged leaders to spearhead the protection and safeguarding of materials of  investors.

She added that as a district, they will make sure that government programmes are supported and they will also guide investors on what to do.