Glitch in shipping equipment stalls Soroti fruit factory - UDC

Kampala.

The root cause behind the delayed Soroti Fruit Factory is a jam in shipping equipment required to run the factory, Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) reveals.
The revelation came to clear the air after the executive director of Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) Ms Jolly Kaguhangire, during a visit by the parliamentary committee on finance at the industrial parks left them (committee) perturbed over what is stalling operations at the fruit factory.
Speaking to Daily Monitor, Ms Pauline Among, the senior legal officer at UDC, said the challenge was beyond all parties involved as the equipment shipped to Uganda was held up at logistics.
“The problem was beyond our control. The equipment was shipped but got stuck in the high seas. We have no control of how things operate from there. All we could do is wait,” she revealed.
She further said if it were Mombasa, government could have hastened the process but in this case, it was out of their hands.

Sewerage treatment plan
Ms Among conceited that much as the sewer treatment plant also hindered the fruit factory’s operations, it was a secondary factor, which they too had no fault in.
She said the Corporation instead devised means on how to counter the prolonged approval of a sewerage treatment plant by the Ministry of Finance.
“We have always pushed Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and UIA to install the treatment plant for a long time. Since we noticed it would take long to be approved, we decided to install a primary one and for now, it will work,” she said.
With the equipment now in place, the fruit factory is set to start operations soon.
Last year, the executive director at UDC, Mr Emmanuel Mutahunga said the corporation expects to commission the factory in March.