China to fund $620m Tororo mining project

By Vision Reporter

Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi has said the Government is encouraging foreign direct investments after discovering several commercial quantities of mineral, oil and gas deposits to enable the country attain middle-income status within the next three years.

“We have induced an environment that is fully supportive of foreign direct investment, and we feel we are valued partners because Africa’s voice is beginning to be heard internationally in the quest for development,” he said.

The PM was meeting a delegation from the China-Africa Development Fund, the largest Chinese private equity that focuses on stimulating and facilitating Chinese investments in Africa, at his office this week.

The fund will finance the proposed $620m mining project in Osukuru hills in Tororo district, undertaken by a Chinese company, Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group, which is prospecting for base metals, phosphates and uranium on 26sqkm covering 14 villages.

According to a release from the Prime Minister’s Office, Mbabazi said Tororo has the second largest phosphate deposits in Africa, with exploitation estimated to last 35 years.

Under the project, the company will produce 300,000 tonnes each of fertilisers and steel annually, establish a 200,000-tonne annual capacity sulfuric acid plant and also build a 5-MW power plant in the area.

Mbabazi commended China for standing by Uganda, saying the country is an example to Africa in her revolutionary struggles against foreign domination.

Lu Qingcheng, the vice-president of China-Africa Development Fund, who led the eightmember delegation, said the fund, which was founded in 2006 by former Chinese president Hu Jintao, is a channel for sustainable Sino-Africa cooperation.

“My visit has cemented my confidence in the project as one of the key investments towards Vision 2040 that will drive Chinese partnerships,” said Qingcheng, adding that he was impressed with the scale of the Tororo project.

Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group specialises in infrastructure development, manufacturing and agriculture value addition.

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