The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Mr Ramathan Ggoobi, has pledged government support to the Kiira Motors Corporation that is currently constructing a vehicle plant at Jinja Industrial Park.
Speaking during a tour of the plant in Jinja on Saturday, October 23, 2021, Mr Goobi, who is also the Secretary to the Treasury, said no country has ever transformed without venturing into industrialisation and manufacturing, adding that agriculture alone can’t do it.
He said his ministry will do all that it takes to ensure successful completion of the vehicle plant.
Mr Ggoobi was taken on a guided tour of the plant by the Executive Chairman Kiira Motors Prof. Sandy Stevens Tichodri-Tagboa and the CEO Paul Musasizi.
The first phase of the Kiira vehicle plant facilities include an assembly shop, a warehouse, in-plant circulation roads, perimeter fence, waste water treatment plant, site drainage and utility distribution. The construction is being undertaken by UPDF through National Enterprise Corporation and supervised by Technology Consults.
The plant is now 90% complete.
The plant sits on 100 acres of land. The facility will start production at 9 buses a day, ramped up to 22 later.
In August this year, President Museveni directed that Shs141 billion, which would have been spent on the construction of a road in this financial year, be given to Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) to complete the building of their vehicle plant project.
President Museveni, who laid a foundation stone at the plant in Jinja Industrial Park on Saturday, said the completion of the plant will produce quicker results than the road to be constructed.
The plant is expected to be completed in December and launched in January 2022.
KMC is a state enterprise aimed at establishing vehicle manufacturing in Uganda.