Tororo rises from the dust as new cement factories open

Industrialisation. The Minister of State for Mineral Development, Mr Peter Lokeris (3rd left), tours Simba Cement plant in Tororo District recently. PHOTO BY JOSEPH OMOLLO

What you need to know:

  • Tororo Cement’s production capacity stands at 1.8 metric tonnes per annum.
  • Tororo Cement factory and Hima Cement factory are the two biggest cement producers.
  • The two collectively account for 80 per cent of the market share.
  • Hima cement produces 8,000 metric tonnes of cement annually and produces Simba Cement 3000 metric tonnes.

Two new factories will soon begin producing cement in Tororo District.
District leaders and residents are optimistic that the establishment of Simba Cement and Hima Cement will spur growth and development and cause a reduction in prices of cement.
Tororo Cement, the leading producer of cement in the country, has previously been the only cement factory in Tororo District.

Simba Cement and Hima Cement have established factories in Tutir and Nyakesi villages respectively on the Tororo-Mbale highway.
Construction of the new plants started in February, 2017. The two factories are expected to create at least 2,500 jobs.
The factories are also expected to increase the production of cement, thereby reducing cost of the product, which recently surged.

The factories
According to the country manager of Simba Cement, Mr Vishnu Patel, the factory projects to start production this month and it is expected to produce 3,000 tonnes of cement annually.
“We will offer employment opportunities to over 200 people directly and more than 2000 people indirectly besides other infrastructural benefits,” Mr Patel says.

Mr Nicholas George, the chief executive officer of Hima Cement, says the new factory will provide jobs for more than 250 people.
“Once the production kicks off, we will be in position to employ over 250 people directly and this, will also enable us to double our production to 1.6 million metric tonnes, annually,” he says. The new Hima Cement plant is expected to commence production next month
Hima Cement produces 8,000 metric tonnes of cement annually.
The cement companies are strategically located in Tororo for better access to limestone, a raw material that is key in the cement production process.

Tororo Cement has also put up another cement plant in a bid to increase its production from the current 1.8 million tonnes to 3 million tonnes annually.
The LC3 chairperson of Rubongi Sub-county, Mr Solomon Oketcho, says the establishment of the factories is a “beacon of hope to the people of Tororo and neighbouring districts”.
“We project a better future for our children and speedy development,” he says, adding that skyrocketing unemployment levels among the youth will be brought down when the plants start production.
Mr John Oboth, a youth, says they expect improved healthcare and affordable housing due to the existence of the factories.

The Budama South MP, Mr Jacob Oboth-Oboth, says industrialisation will usher in urbanisation and increase market for the goods and services.
“This will be a turning point in to the lives of ordinary people who will be directly and indirectly employed in different ways to earn a living so that they are be in a position to sustain their families,” he adds.
Mr Oboth explains that according to the investment plans, the companies will partner with the district to build schools, health centres and water sources, all of which he says will improve living standards of people.
“We expect Tororo to become a small ‘Dubai’ of East Africa and as leaders, we are prepared to mobilise our people to position themselves to harness the opportunities,’’ Mr Oboth, says.

Tororo County MP Frederick Angura says the cropping up of factories is a sign of re-emergence of Tororo as an industrial town.
Tororo was in 1960s regarded as the second most industrialised district after Jinja.
Formerly, the town had industries such as Tororo Industrial Chemicals and Fertilizers (TICAF), Uganda Jute and Hessian, Tororo Steel Works, Tororo Oil and Soap Works, Universal Asbestos and South Bukedi Cooperative Union ginnery, which have since collapsed.

Caution
“Small trading centres will also crop up and grow at a faster rate, the value of land will increase, with an acre going for over Shs35 million from the current Shs3 million,” he says.
Ms Christine Atoto, an environmental activist, however, cautions that investors must put in place measures to protect the environment.
“The investors should put up measures, including planting more trees to absorb emissions from the factories to avoid bronchial infections of the residents and community at large,” she says.
Ms Atoto adds that many workers also contract eye infection and respiratory diseases due to lack of protective gear.
Ms Evelyn Aol, the district National Environment Management Authority, says they have advised the investors to ensure proper management of waste.

“We have advised them to put up mechanisms that control pollution,” she adds.
The Minister of State for Mineral Development, Mr Peter Lokeris, said on his recent tour of the new cement plants that the factories would boost the country’s economy.
“Besides offering them space, government has also conditioned them to ensure that over 80 per cent of their employees are Ugandan, short of that government revokes their operational licence,” he said.
He added: “It’s the wish of the government that more cement factories are established to address scarcity of cement.”