Buikwe industrial park: Ugandans advised to grow rubber

BUIKWE - The State Minister of Finance for Investment and Privatisation Evelyn Anite has called upon Ugandans to start growing rubber trees to supply the motor vehicle factories with raw materials.

She was speaking at a function organised to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the government of Uganda and MMP Industrial Park Limited at the Ministry of Finance offices recently.

"I urge all Ugandans who are in the agriculture sector and those with unutilised land to embrace this opportunity to invest in rubber tree growing. We do not have to create a market for our neighbours, let us take this opportunity to feed this company thus creating jobs," Anite stated. 

She added: "Exporting tyres is expensive, some tyres costing sh1 or sh2m but if we start manufacturing them here, the costs will reduce."

Anite noted that President Museveni recently launched a motorcycle factory, but that the raw material needed to make the tyres is imported from Congo yet Uganda has fertile soils that can support the growth of rubber trees.

Under the MoU, MMP is expected to inject $300m (about sh1.1 trillion) to set up 20 factories in the Buikwe-based industrial park, including one that manufactures vehicle materials such as tyres.

Anita discussing the industrial park plan

 
This, according to Anite, is expected to create a number of jobs for Ugandans.

The MMP Industrial Park director, Patel Sandip, said the company is ready to work in Uganda, adding that five out of the over 20 factories to be set up in the park are already operational.

The ones which are operational include a paper factory - the first of its kind in Uganda, vehicle tyre factory, construction material factory and an engineering equipment factory.

Anite said Uganda has been importing papers, explaining that the few paper companies that exist just recycle. "MMP will use our raw materials to produce paper," she said.

The industrial park sits on 960-acre piece of land.

"The five factories are to employ 5000 workers while the vehicle factory will be in need of 100 tonnes of rubber every day," Patel said.

Anite encouraged the people of Buikwe to take advantage of the industrial park.

"Ugandans have been complaining of most industrial parks being located in central but MMP industrial Park Limited has helped us achieve the goal of setting up industrial parks in different regions," she said.