The Ugandan government will identify land for a proposed Egyptian-backed industrial park to add value to coffee and cotton, President Yoweri Museveni has said.
Museveni made the pledge when he met a delegation of Egyptian investors at State House, Entebbe, after they proposed setting up the park to house processing factories.
“The idea is good. We shall identify for you an area where you can construct,” he said.
The delegation, led by Uganda’s Deputy Ambassador to Egypt, Lt Gen Charles Angina, also proposed signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government covering one or two strategic projects. Museveni said the government was ready to work with them.
Eng Moustafa Saad Soliman Elsayed Ahamed, an Egyptian investor in the construction sector, said the group was interested in Uganda’s priority infrastructure, including roads, railways, water and electricity.
“We are here to build on the momentum between Egypt and Uganda. We are ready to identify key strategic and priority projects that we can partner with you to make them happen,” he said.
Museveni said Uganda produces large volumes of agricultural produce, minerals and forest products but lacks enough factories to process them before export.
He described the economy as resting on four sectors: commercial agriculture, manufacturing based on agricultural, mineral and forest raw materials, services, and information and communications technology.
“The first sector is commercial agriculture. We produce a lot. That is why we want value addition,” he said.
He said processors would need affordable electricity to compete on global markets, and urged the investors to consider power generation projects, which he said could be developed by the government or by private investors with patient capital.
“We need electricity. We want an economy which produces competitive products that can compete globally. That means the price of electricity must not be too high,” Museveni said.
He also cited railway transport as a way to lower the cost of moving goods, saying shifting cargo from road to rail would make Ugandan products more competitive.
“We need the railway system. We need to transport cargo from the road to the railway because it is cheaper,” he said.
Museveni said irrigation would allow farmers to produce throughout the year instead of relying on rain, ensuring steadier supplies of raw materials for factories.
“The third area of priority in infrastructure is irrigation because we need to stabilise agriculture,” he said.
He added that private investors could also build toll roads and recover their investment through user charges, while the government continues to finance main roads.
Eng Ahamed credited the government with providing a stable environment for investment.
“We assure you that we are ready to work with you and help develop Uganda’s infrastructure because this is our sister country. Africa must develop Africa, no matter what,” he said.
The delegation also included Khalil Mohamed Ahmed, Dr Sally Atef Saad Atia Bahr, Yasser Raouf Mohamed Abdallah El-Saadany, Dr Alaa El Essawy, Mohamed El Daly and Abdulmanaeim Mohamed.