Chinese to build Shs1.8 trillion cement plant in Mbale District

BEIJING.

A Chinese company has agreed to build a $500m (Shs1.8 trillion) cement factory in Uganda.
This will be the fifth factory in the country after Hima, Tororo, Kampala and Simba which is under construction.

China National Materials Group or Sinoma, a global manufacturer and supplier of mechanical equipment, also dealing in engineering and installation of cement production lines, will establish the cement factory in Mbale District.

This same company is also linked to a planned multi-billion cement factory in Tanga, Tanzania.
The company chairman, Mr Liu Zhijiang and president Peng Jianxin met a team of Uganda government officials in Beijing, China on Tuesday and discussed the project details.

However, before accepting to set up a cement factory in the Mbale Industrial Park, they needed government assurance on the availability of limestone to supply the factory.

“We are not a small company. We are a big company with engineering, procurement and construction projects in 100 countries and we are listed on the stock exchange in Shanghai and Hong Kong,” Mr Zhijiang said.

He added: “We have no problem investing in Uganda but we need government support. We need land and limestone to feed the factory because a good meal is impossible without the basic materials.”

The Ugandan delegation to China led by State Privatisation and Investment minister Evelyn Anite and her Trade counterpart Micheal Werikhe promised ‘total support’ and reiterated government’s desire to create one million jobs by 2020 under President Museveni’s strategic investment plan.

Mr Zhang Zhigang, the chairman Tiantang Group introduced Sinoma to the Ugandan delegation.
“We are happy to hear that Sinoma is a big company because in Uganda we don’t need unserious investors. We need serious people who will help us create jobs for the young people. We have peace and security in the country and the market for your products is available in East Africa,” Ms Anite said.

She added: “We will provide land, licence for limestone and other incentives. As government, we are going to do our part. We also want you to do your part because we don’t want delays.”
Quoting a 2011 survey by the Department of Geological Survey and Mines at the ministry of Energy, Mr Werikhe, one of the area leaders told the meeting that, Karamoja sub-region is gifted with other raw materials such as uranium, iron, wolfram, tin graphite, copper, cobalt, lithium and gypsum nickel.

Ms Anite told Sinoma executives that that there is enough limestone in Karamoja, a resource that can supply the country for the next 300 years.
She also asked them to send a team to Uganda on a fact-finding mission as soon as possible.
To this effect, a team of Chinese experts will visit Uganda next week to study the limestone in Karamoja before Mr Zhijiang and his friend, former Chinese ambassador to Uganda Zhou Yali meet President Museveni over the project.

The news of another cement factory in Uganda is likely to be good news to Mr Museveni, who during the February 2016 elections, promised to turn Karamoja into one of the industrial centres of Uganda.
Although the factory will be based in Mbale Industrial Park, Ms Anite hopes that its establishment will create jobs for the people in the sub-region and reduce the cost of cement, currently at about $10 dollars (Shs36,000) per 50kg-bag.

About Simona

Sinoma, established in 1983, is a central government-administered enterprise directly under the administration of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. It is the world’s largest cement equipment and engineering service provider and China’s leading non-metal materials manufacturer.

Sinoma is mainly engaged in cement equipment and engineering services, glass fiber, cement and high-tech materials business. The company possesses a series of core technologies such as glass fiber, composite materials, synthetic crystals, advanced ceramics and new dry process cement technology, with pioneering research and development capabilities, strong implementation capability for commercialisation of innovative technologies, successful merger and acquisition experience and unique business model.