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Tororo: Local leaders and communities in Tororo district started putting a smile on their faces as a multibillion Tororo fertilizer factory resumes partial production.
The factory shut down in 2021 after the factory reportedly lost funding from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group Company Mrs. Jane Guo, the partial production has started with the fertilizer section.
Speaking to the Cabinet subcommittee that was led by the minister of energy and mineral development Ms. Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu on Thursday, she said they opted to start with the fertilizer section because of the current crisis of fertilizer in the market.
She said they did a prior feasibility study on the global demand of the fertilizer that informed the company about the great demand for the product by farmers.
Ms. Guo informed the cabinet subcommittee that they will also consider resuming production in all other sectors but in a phased manner bearing in mind the availability of the finances.
‘’We did feasibility study on which section to begin with and we discovered that fertilizer prices had tripled in the market and this guided as to start with fertilizer section because we were sure of the market and we hope that the proceeds we shall get from the sector will help us revamp other sectors also with time’’ she said.
She however appealed to government’s support to have the company go into full blast production
Sitting on 625 acre of land, the Uganda-China Free zone of the International Company Project had planned to produce 300,000 tons of organic fertilizer, steel, electricity, sulphuric acid and glass.
However the energy and mineral development minister Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu that the investor for revamping the investment that had gone into limbo for the last two years.
She said resuming production mainly on the fertilizer section is timely and that will help boost the Parish Development Model programme since most of the beneficiaries are going for agriculture.
‘’Use of fertilizers currently are not an option but a must because the fertility of our land has gone down and it’s the reason why most farmers are experiencing low production and as a country we are saying use of fertilizer must be a priority therefore the direction you have chosen is a good one and we shall support you’’ remarked the minister.
She added that the government will also consider phased financing to help the investment resume full blast production.
Meanwhile the minister of state for finance and investment Mrs. Amos Lugolobi challenged the investor to identify critical areas where they feel the government can partner with them to help rejuvenate production.
He said the shutdown of the investment has brought shame to the government since it had a lot of hope for the investment.
Equally the minister of state for defense Jacob Oboth Oboth thanked the investor for sparing its resources in revamping the defunct investment.
He said as leaders from Tororo district they had felt cheated especially after the shutdown of the facility because it relieved job opportunities to their people.
