Uganda Business, Economy and Infrastructure News

[u.g boy]

Oil refinery land set for demarcation
Publish Date: Mar 12, 2012

Exlporation area 3A near Lake Albert in Hoima district.
By Robert Atuhairwe

The demarcation of the proposed land for the establishment of an oil refinery at Kabaale in Buseruka sub-county Hoima district is set to start within two weeks.

The revelation was made by Robert Kasende, an assistant commissioner in the ministry of energy and mineral development.

Addressing local leaders in the area on Saturday at Kabaale Primary School, Kasende said the feasibility study conducted in 2010 by Foster Wheeler, a United Kingdom firm assessed the size and configuration of the refinery at 29 square kilometers.

He said the land will be used to also set up other oil refinery-related infrastructure including waste management facilities, staff quarters for the refinery workers, a modern airport and petrol chemical industries, among others.

He explained that the boundary survey will be carried out by experts from the department of surveying and mapping in the ministry of lands at Entebbe and later hire a consultant for the resettlement action plan.

The refinery will cover nine villages of Nyahaira, Kyapoloni, Nyamasoga, Kabaale 2, Kabakete, Kiteegwa, Katooke, Kigaaga and Nyansenene.

The refinery, whose construction will begin this year and is expected to be complete in four years, is to process crude oil for export and local consumption.

The aim of the meeting was to sensitize community leaders on how they can use their clout to disseminate positive information about the project on land-related matters that also includes compensation of those people settling on the refinery land so as to avoid negative energy in the process.

He assured the over 100 leaders who included LCI and sub-county chairpersons, councilors, parish and sub-county chiefs that, compensation will be by mutual understanding depending on the value of the properties on land.

The leaders were also briefed about the new developments, achievements and challenges facing the nascent sector, history of petroleum exploration in Uganda and the national oil and gas policy.

Kasende outlined among the challenges as; high anxiety and expectations from the public that needs to be addressed early, slow prioritization of the oil and gas aspects by other sectors and the lack of capacity building so as to ably profit from the sector.

Benefits

Naomi Kabarungi, an official from the energy ministry said the refinery project will come with many benefits more especially to the neighboring community in terms of employment opportunities and infrastructure development, adding that, it was paramount for the leaders to share positive information regarding the project since they are also important stakeholders.

“As local leaders, you have many roles to play like working as agents of social -economic change in your respective areas of jurisdiction, so you should take initiatives and be a ray of hope by distributing positive information on how people can benefit from the project,” she said.

Kabarungi urged the local leaders to practice proactive communication to avoid crisis situations in future.

Jean Kaliba, the district resident commissioner warned leaders against entertaining people who incite the public that oil would be a curse.

She observed that the government was very keen at ensuring that the resource benefits all Ugandans and that issues to do with oil impact on the environment, oil revenue sharing and compensation would be seriously addressed.

[ciceroji]

Another locally assembled television brand has been unveiled.
The first Hisense television set assembled in Uganda was yesterday handed over to President Yoweri Museveni by managers of Hisense Uganda and Future Electronics Co.

During the unveiling of the TV brand at State House Entebbe, the managing director of Hisense, Zhang Hao, said their products were already available on the Ugandan market.

The company also produces fridges and owns a group of restaurants.
Zhang was part of a group of Chinese investors who were introduced to the President by the former Chinese ambassador to Uganda Fan Gui Jin.

Ambassador Fan is the current Standing Director of the China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation and the International Eco-tech cooperation Committee.

According to a release form State House, the President called on Chinese companies to either invest in Uganda by buying raw materials, processing locally and selling in Uganda and the region or work in partnership with Ugandans by selling to them equipment and other goods and allowing them to pay in installments.

“Either Chinese companies can invest here themselves or they can sell machines and equipment to Ugandan groups and allow them to pay in installments.

There is a big market for East Africa but you can also export to Europe,” he said
Uganda is a member of the commonwealth market for Eastern and Southern African States (COMESA), a region with a market of over 300 million people in 20 countries, a member of the East African Community and is allowed duty and quota free access into the US (AGOA), EU (EBA) markets and China.

The Chinese investors also included :the Chief Executive Officer for ZTE, Bob Wang (Specialists in telecommunications, ICT and Solar equipment), the Senior Marketing Manager for Shangai Construction Group Micheal Ray (Infrastructure development, road and airport construction and fruit processing) and the representative of the China CAMC Engineering Company, Li Yong.

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/6296...-unveiled.html

[u.g boy]

Originally Posted by ciceroji

Another locally assembled television brand has been unveiled.
The first Hisense television set assembled in Uganda was yesterday handed over to President Yoweri Museveni by managers of Hisense Uganda and Future Electronics Co.

During the unveiling of the TV brand at State House Entebbe, the managing director of Hisense, Zhang Hao, said their products were already available on the Ugandan market.

The company also produces fridges and owns a group of restaurants.
Zhang was part of a group of Chinese investors who were introduced to the President by the former Chinese ambassador to Uganda Fan Gui Jin.

Ambassador Fan is the current Standing Director of the China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation and the International Eco-tech cooperation Committee.

According to a release form State House, the President called on Chinese companies to either invest in Uganda by buying raw materials, processing locally and selling in Uganda and the region or work in partnership with Ugandans by selling to them equipment and other goods and allowing them to pay in installments.

“Either Chinese companies can invest here themselves or they can sell machines and equipment to Ugandan groups and allow them to pay in installments.

There is a big market for East Africa but you can also export to Europe,” he said
Uganda is a member of the commonwealth market for Eastern and Southern African States (COMESA), a region with a market of over 300 million people in 20 countries, a member of the East African Community and is allowed duty and quota free access into the US (AGOA), EU (EBA) markets and China.

The Chinese investors also included :the Chief Executive Officer for ZTE, Bob Wang (Specialists in telecommunications, ICT and Solar equipment), the Senior Marketing Manager for Shangai Construction Group Micheal Ray (Infrastructure development, road and airport construction and fruit processing) and the representative of the China CAMC Engineering Company, Li Yong.

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/6296...-unveiled.html

i saw this its very exciting

[u.g boy]

$3m Rivonia Suites open
Business

THURSDAY, 15 MARCH 2012 22:43 WRITTEN BY SIMON MUSASIZI 1 COMMENTS
A $3 million investment of suites has opened in Mbuya, arguably the most expensive in the eastern part of Kampala.

Rivonia Suites opened doors last weekend with 16 suites that will run as an hotel, 14 two-bedroom apartments, and a luxurious health club known as Health City. Accommodation remains one of Uganda’s biggest barriers to attracting tourists with suburbs like Mbuya and its surroundings such as Luzira, Kitintale, lacking such facilities.

Rivonia comes at a time when the country is preparing to grade its hotels so that customers can differentiate who has better facilities. Whereas Rivonia may not see itself in the five-star league, it boasts of services such as the health club, which will give other five-star hotels like Kampala Serena hotel a run for their money. Trading under the cheeky tag, “Look better naked”, the luxurious health club offers a multi-sensory experience –with some of the best equipments such as the cardio theatre (by Life Fitness USA).

“Working out at Health City becomes an experience as soon as you walk through the door. Experience the state-of-the-art technology especially designed to support you in achieving your goals,” says Deox Tibeingana, the proprietor.

The charges for the health club are $1,500 per person for one year or $3,300 for one year per family. It costs $15 per day.

“We are targeting clients who want luxury in their lives, but also clients who want the best service,” says Tibeingana.

According to Tibeingana, Shs 500m was spent on fitting the club. This was part of the $3 million credit from United Bank of Africa spent on constructing the whole suites.

[u.g boy]

Uganda: After Kiira EV, Eyes On Kayoola EV
BY MOSES TALEMWA, 11 MARCH 2012
Comment
After the excitement that embraced Kiira EV, the team that created Makerere University's first electric car is already hard at work on a new vehicle; a 30-seater bus that is expected to be on the road in June 2013.

According to the team supervisor, Paul Isaac Musasizi, the car to be called Kayoola-EV, will be a substantial improvement on Kiira-EV. "We intend to have two sources of power to extend the range of the vehicle to beyond the 80km [in the Kiira Ev] by incorporating a solar panel on the roof of the vehicle so that when the sun is shining, we can tap into it,îe Musasizi says. He explains that the vehicle would be able to use one part of the battery while charging another section.

Apart from its size, the two-seater Kiira EV has been the butt of jokes about its range given the unreliable power supply in the country. Kiira EV takes five hours to charge fully then hit the road for 80km, before going for another full charge. Musasizi says they are retaining the team that built Kiira EV; which includes former electrical engineering students Richard Madanda and Fred Matovu, former mechanical engineering students Maurice Wandera and Ronald Kayiwa. Then there is Gerald Baguma and Pauline Korukundo, who are telecommunication engineering graduates, as well as Kenneth Ndyabawe who is an agricultural engineering graduate.

Tony Ongini, who got a first-class degree in mechanical engineering at Makerere's last graduation, has also joined the team, together with 12 students; two from Architecture, two from Mechanical engineering, one from Telecommunications and seven from Electrical engineering. For now the team can't publish the diagrams of how the vehicle will look, although they admit that it was inspired by a recent trip to the source of the Nile. ìWe have wavy designs that are very futuristic, but we havenít decided on the final one", Madanda reveals.

However, Musasizi concedes that the final design will be ready before the end of May, by which time the construction will start.

Why Kayoola

The team says they are still receiving suggestions for a name for the bus, although they are working with the name Kayoola in mind. Kayoola is derived from the name given to the 1980s cargo train that used to ply the Mukono to Kalerwe route carrying passengers who could not afford the bus fare then.

According to Michael Musoke, a market trader who used to travel on that train from Kalerwe to his home in Mukono in 1989, it was the most convenient mode of transport at the time. "Many times you found women with their children and market wares heading back home to Mukono after paying as little as Shs 50. At the time, the UTC bus used to take us to Mukono for Shs 150", he recalls. He is hopeful that the Kayoola bus will finally relieve the pressure of public transport in future.

[u.g boy]

Uganda Business News: KCCA Collects 1044 Millions, Buses Get Temporary Number Plates
First published: 20120315 1:50:03 PM EST 1


Ultimate Media

Kampala City Council Authority has revealed that they have managed to collect 1044 millions shillings in just three days.

According to officials from the authority, the money they have collected has surprised them because Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association, UTODA, had never given them even half in a month. The officials say that UTODA used to give them just 392 millions in a month.

KCCA says that the money they are collecting is for the month of February only. They say that they have started giving out demand notes for the month of March which when collected it will rise the collections to over two billions.

However, information from KCCA indicates that buses have not yet paid anything because they were called in to save the situation when the taxi operators were striking.

Meanwhile the pioneer easy buses have been given red number plates which are meant to serve for a short time as government processes the permanent ones.

There have been complaints from the general public that the buses have no number plates and in case of an accident they could not be recognized.


Uganda Business News: Uganda To Start Producing Solar Panels
First published: 20120313 11:25:28 AM EST


Ultimate Media

Preparations by Uganda Management and Innovations Institute to start producing solar panels from within the country are in high gear.


This was revealed by the Institute’s Director who is also the Member of Parliament for Erute county Geoffrey Omara

While speaking to journalists at parliament today,Omara said that the solar panels that will be produced in the country will be durable and will be able to out compete all the solar panels on the market

Omara says that what the country needs is high quality solar panels to have power supply constantly.

.
He says that the institute will be meeting with technocrats from Europe who will help the institute in the set up of the machinery at the factory in Kireka at the end of this month and start production byAugust


Omara said that the institute is not only aimed at producing solar panels, but its major objective is to impart skills to many Ugandans in order to compete for jobs with other people in the world

[u.g boy]

From den to commercial centre

Part of Kisenyi Road near Owino Market Mall. The area is developing at a fast rate, with many buildings cropping up. Police reports also indicate that crime rate in the area has reduced. Photo by Faiswal Kasirye

By Abdu Kiyaga (email the author)

Posted Friday, March 23 2012 at 00:00
IN SUMMARY

Growing fast. Formerly known for its swarm of criminals and poverty, Kisenyi is quickly changing, with commercial buildings shooting up in different corners.

Mengo-Kisenyi, a large slum once known for its violent crimes, is quickly changing face to meet the city standards.

With the ever-growing population, the need for development is slowly eliminating the slum dwellers out of the city.

Five years ago, Mengo-Kisenyi, a Kampala slum, but it referred to as a hub for criminals, has recently picked up and is slowly growing into a business centre.

The area that accommodates close to 10,000 people, is a centre of small-scale businesses such as maize mills, crafts, timber works and metal fabrication, although these businesses are fighting for space with new developments such as shopping malls, arcades and office blocks.

Mr Saidi Ssimbwa, who has lived in Kisenyi for about 20 years, said he sees light at the end of the tunnel.

“It was really hard to move freely through this place at night without being attacked. Crime in the area has drastically dropped. Even prostitution which used to be big business here has almost collapsed,” Mr Ssimbwa said.

“The criminals who have been making life difficult for the dwellers are now slowly switching to working on the numerous construction sites,” he adds.

Speaking to Daily Monitor yesterday, Central Division Mayor Godfrey Nyakana said things are moving on well in the area -thanks to the growing number of investors that have picked interest in the area.

“We also have a plan of making the area a commercial centre and we will have to involve the communities around so that they are the fore beneficiaries of the programme,” Mr Nyakana said.

Progressive development
Daily Monitor has learnt that in the last two years, a shopping mall, two hotels and a complex have been erected in the area, in addition to upgrading Kisenyi Road and the establishment of a taxi park.

This development has also seen a number of Kisenyi dwellers driven out into hideouts.

The developments have prompted a beef-up in security by introducing more police stations and increasing patrols, especially at night and with this, security officials say crime has significantly reduced.

[u.g boy]

Port Bell rehabilitation to ease water transport
Publish Date: Mar 24, 2012

A ship docked at Port Bell pier, Luzira. The pier will be rehabilitated to handle more cargo

THE Port Bell pier in Luzira was built as an air/sea port and was opened in 1908. It was used by the Imperial Airways to fly in passenger boats and mail services. It was also used as a stop-over between Southampton and Johannesburg. It served mainly as the landing port for goods between Port Florence (now Kisumu) and Kampala. Later, a short, six mile line was built to join it to Kampala. It was once mooted as a possible connection port for the “Cape to Cairo” line. It would have had to be converted to the cape gauge.

After opening the Kampala station, it continued to increase in status, until 1962 when it was abandoned due to floods and the connecting line lifted. In 1992, with the assistance of DANIDA, it was re-built with a railway link to replace Jinja as the main gateway to the southern route (Central Corridor). It was also to act as a supplementary route to the Northern Corridor.

It was once served by five wagon ferries, carrying as much as 45,000 tonnes per month. Currently, the port mainly serves small private boats carrying fuel and general cargo. The MV Umoja (a Tanzanian ferry) operates only occasionally on special charter. This situation is poised to change after the rehabilitation of the MV Kaawa.

Uganda’s remaining three giant wagon ferries are currently grounded, pending rehabilitation. MV Kaawa is being refurbished and the works began with the rehabilitation of the dry dock at a cost of about sh7b. The works on this ferry are expected to be finished soon. Later, it will be taken off the dock to the water for testing to assess whether it comforms to seaworthiness.

Charles Kateeba, the chief mechanical engineer of the Uganda Railways Corporation, said immediately after the repairs of MV Kaawa, it will be handed to Rift Valley Railways (RVR), the concessionaire of Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) for operation and management

However, the rehabilitation of MV Pamba is awaiting the allocation of funds from the finance ministry, while the sub-merged MV Kabalega also awaits retrieval from the water by maritime experts. MV Kabalega submerged in Lake Victoria in 2005 and plans are underway to retrieve it. MV Pamba is still grounded at the port, pending repairs.

Kateeba said the preliminary design and feasibility study funded by the Government at a cost of about sh2b for remodelling and expansion of the port. This also includes the construction of the new ship to replace the submerged MV Kababalega. After remodelling and upgrading the port, it is expected to handle railway wagon ferries, container ships as well as general cargo and passenger vessels much better. The Government is working closely with that of Tanzania to strengthen the corridor further by opening up the Tanga Musoma line.

[u.g boy]

Warid to invest another $25m
Publish Date: Mar 25, 2012

Yarlagadda speaks to the media after announcing the deal
By Stephen Ilungole and Samuel Sanya

WARID Telecom invested up to $25m (about sh62b) last year in network expansion and improvement, a top official has revealed.

“This resulted into significant growth in market share. We are set to spend a further $25m by mid-year,” Sriram Yarlagadda, the Warid chief executive officer and the director for telecom business, told the press in Kampala.

Yarlagadda was announcing the hand over of the running of its call centre operations to Indian-based Spanco BPO in measures to cut costs on non-core business areas.

The new joint company Spanco Raps Uganda will manage all Warid’s outsourcing and call centre operations, including all inbound calls.

The group will be remunerated on the basis of calls handled, top officials told the media in Kampala yesterday.

The group handles 30 telecom operators in India with a total of one million calls daily.

Spanco BPO is a subsidiary of Spanco Limited listed on the Mumbai and the National Stock exchange with revenues of over $340m last year.

Yarlagadda explained that they would now concentrate on their core business of brand building, boosting customer base, new area coverage and network expansion.

“We have limited capabilities to run the call centres. This is not a core role for telecoms world over.

“We are not best placed to run the concept,” Yarlagadda said.

“We needed to bring experts in this field like Spanco to help enhance the kind of service we dream to offer our customers,” he noted.

Yarlagadda pointed out that the deal will reduce the waiting time spent by clients wanting to speak to a customer care agent to between 20 and 30 seconds from an average of three to five minutes.

“Spanco will expand the call centre base, which will help provide superior quality customer care service to boost our customer satisfaction,” Yarlagadda stated.

He observed that all the thousands of employees in the call centres will be transferred to the new company.

“There will be no job losses.

“The one thing we did was to ensure that no job is lost,” he said.

Yarlagadda said the company will now concentrate on growing market share and revenues.

Pravin Kumar, the Spanco BPO global chief executive officer, indicated that a team of experienced personnel was already in the country to start the mapping of process of the areas covered by Warid, which he said should last in 45 days.

“We will then start a detailed engagement with key staff in IT and marketing departments. We see huge potential.

“These services are key for everybody including e-government,” Kumar said.

Warid also joined MTN and Orange telecoms after announcing a deal to sell its 394 towers to the UK-based Eaton Towers.

The firm has tower operations in Ghana and South Africa.

Yarlagadda said the deal would help them reduce the long term infrastructure costs.

“This gives us the ability to put our money into areas that allow us to grow much faster in electronics, rolling out into more locations, our brand development and not in the passive towers,” said Yarlagadda. “We are now looking to spend more on other areas. The costs of building towers, generators and fencing are no longer our responsibility,” he added.

Pravin Kumar, the Spanco global boss revealed that they are looking to spend anything between $2.5 and $3m on the onset, adding that his company is eyeing telecoms, government and the electricity sector.

Alan Harper, the Eaton Towers chief executive, said he was excited to work with Ugandan telecom operators.

“Eaton Towers’ expertise in tower management and commitment to top quality service will allow Ugandan operators to focus on providing innovative mobile services and expanding its subscriber base. At the same time, our ownership and management of the telecoms network infrastructure will ensure that the local networks will continually be enhanced and expanded, whilst maintaining low operating costs for the mobile operators,” Harper said.

“These partnerships (with local operators) bring significant benefits to all parties,” he explained.

[u.g boy]

Government launches Shs1.2b plastic surgery facility

VP Edward Ssekandi (L) and the Corsu team tour a ward housing children with broken limbs. The children will undergo surgery at the Corsu hospital. Photo by Martin Ssebuyira

By Martin Ssebuyira (email the author)

Posted Monday, March 26 2012 at 00:00
People spending money to travel overseas to get hip surgeries, knee implants and plastic surgeries have reason to smile after the government commissioned a new ward to offer the services locally.

The facilities, offered at Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services in Uganda (Corsu) in Kisubi, will help replace and correct knees and hips fractured in accidents or caused by ailments.
“Our plastic surgeons can enlarge small hips and vice versa but we are mainly looking at restoring ability and giving hope to people,” Ms Irene Nabalamba, the hospital spokesperson, said.

While commissioning the new private ward, physiotherapy department and an administration block at the weekend, the Vice President, Mr Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, said government would offer support to the hospital through a private-public partnership.
“We are all potential disabled people but coming up to offer free surgery to mend the problem is quite alluring,” Mr Ssekandi said.

Ms Nabalamba said the hospital has so far performed 10,124 surgical procedures mainly on children and people with disabilities to save limbs, restore ability at a subsidised price that has not been established yet or some cases at no cost.

She added that 16 per cent of the country’s population have a disability, of which two per cent are children, yet physical disabilities can be prevented, reduced or cured through timely interventions.

Not enough
The Corsu executive board president, Mr Aloysius Kaganda Bakkidde, said although there is a fair amount of attention given to the needs of physically-disabled people, there is still scarcity of services.

He said they enrolled one plastic surgeon, two specialist orthopedic surgeons and offered annual scholarships in orthopedic surgery to different people to ensure adequate manpower.
“We have not obtained any significant financial and technical support from government. I want to implore government and the business community to partner with us to achieve our objectives,” he said.

Mr Ssekandi started a fund with Shs2 million to assist the hospital and promised to lobby other government enterprises to aid the facility.

[u.g boy]

Uganda likely to auction 4 oil blocks
Publish Date: Mar 29, 2012


An oil drilling site in Bunyoro. File Photo

Uganda is likely to auction four blocks for oil exploration early next year, the chairman of the Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum told an energy conference on Wednesday.

London-listed Tullow Oil, which discovered substantial deposits in the east African country in 2006, expects to start small production late this year.

"Four blocks and 10,000 square km of relinquished acreage will be auctioned, most likely in the beginning of next year," Chairman Elly Karuhanga said.

Last month, the government introduced a long-awaited bill to regulate the east African country's nascent oil sector as it prepares for commercial production.

"New progressive laws are being made, and a round of licensing will be announced thereafter," Karuhanga said.

Tullow says it has found 1.1 billion confirmed barrels of oil and believes there are 1.4 billion left to find.

Earlier this year, it closed a $2.9 billion deal to bring in French oil major Total and Chinese group CNOOC as partners to develop its fields.

The group will now focus on their $10 billion plan to start pumping oil from huge reserves discovered on the shores of Lake Albert. They expect to ramp up to a major production phase in 2016.

Other companies holding interests in Ugandan blocks are Ophir Energy, which got two blocks with the acquisition after acquiring Dominion Petroleum, and Tower Resources. (Reuters)

1,200 jobs up for grabs at KCCA
Publish Date: Mar 29, 2012

KCCA chief Jennifer Musisi flanked by the authority Spokesperson Peter Kaujju. Photo by Mark Owor
By Joyce Namutebi and Juliet Waiswa

Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) is to recruit 1,200 workers compared to the previous 1,300 workers of Kampala City Council, the executive director, Jennifer Musisi has said.

Musisi explained that the process to rebrand the institution and creating a positive efficient city administration had started but real gains from the government takeover of the city would be determined by the quality of human resource.

Jennifer Musisi was appearing before the presidential affairs committee over a petition by employees of the defunct KCC. Currently the only permanent staff KCCA has are the nine directors and Musisi.

She said that under KCC, there was lack of proper staff, asset and financial inventories. Some staff, she said, were unknown and some staff on the pay roll had not been legally appointed.

Employees of the defunct KCC petitioned Parliament demanding to know their fate because under the new structure their positions had been changed while others had been abolished.

They further accusing the ED of recruiting workers before public service had advertised for the jobs. Among other issues, they also stated that there was no need for them to reapply since they had served in the institution for years.

On those wishing to retire voluntarily, Musisi explained that KCCA was recommending that they get a severance package.



Roofings to create 2500 more jobs
Publish Date: Mar 29, 2012

Sikander Lalani left takes around the Chief Executive officer Standard Bank Africa Chris Newton centre and the Managing Director of Philip Odere right
By Wilfred Sanya

Uganda to get 2500 jobs at the completion of the new factory of Roofing at Namanve industrial park in Mukono district.

The Chairman of Roofing group Sikander Lalani disclosed this during the visit of the Chief Executive Standard Bank Africa Chris Newton at the new site in Namanve recently We are now in the last stage of phase three of the project where we shall process all the scraps in our country into construction materials, Lalani informed Newton while touring at Namanve.

“The second phase makes steel rolling mills and the third phase will make cold rolling mills. The phase three work is complete 50 percent”. Said Lalani. Roofing group signed a $64m (sh148b) syndicated loan with six financial institutions to finance its hot-and-cold rolling mill plant at the Namanve Industrial Park. At the tour of the plant, Newton said that this clearly depicted what can be done to develop Uganda than importing materials if we had more of such investors. He added that he was impressed by the work so far done.

The loan, is payable in seven years, will be serviced at 5.25% interest rate. Lalani, the Roofings Group chairman, said the entire three phase project is to cost $1OOm. Phase one is already making galvanised wires.So have when the Namanve planted is completed they will have invested 180 million dollars.

He further noted that they will produce up to 350 tonnes annually of metal works from the new factory and that of Lubowa in Wakiso district. Only 45 percent will be for export to the neighboring countries and the rest would be utlised in Uganda .When completed, the plant will be the largest in the region with scrap collected in Congo and Sudan. The factory is of high technology that environment will not be polluted to danger the health of the people.

According to the Uganda Infrastructure Report, construction industry grew by 12.92% in 2010 to reach a value of (US$2.74bn).Double digit growth is anticipated every year over our forecast period, with construction industry value to reach (US$6.66bn) by 2014.

This makes Roofing to be a key player in the construction industry for Uganda to achieve this goal. On the local market, a cost of those buying scrap, buy it at sh. 800 per kilogram. This is a good income to those who do not have permanent jobs by gathering scrap. The Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Philip Odera, said this loan, is the second of its kind in the country after the $100m signed by MTN in 2010, and demonstrates the sophistication that is beginning to take place in the financial market.

On the bank Interest rates, he said that the will continue to go down according to the markers to allow their clients to afford to expand on their products.



RVR awards Shs12 billion repair deal to Multiplex

A section of the Kenya - Uganda railway line. The over 100 year old railway line is in urgent need of repair. FILE PHOTO.

By Nicholas Kalungi (email the author)

Posted Thursday, March 29 2012 at 19:56
Repairing of nine Uganda-Kenya railway culverts between Busembatia and Jinja will run for 180 days, starting this April, Rift Valley Railways has announced. The announcement comes after RVR, the concessionaire of the Uganda-Kenya railway, signed a $4.9 million (about Shs12 billion) deal with Multiplex Limited for the repair of the railway section.



The completion of the repairs is expected to improve the efficiency of train services in Uganda through expanding loading capacity as well as reducing transit time. Speaking after the signing of the contract in Kampala, Mr Brown Ondego, the RVR chief executive officer said the replacement of the nine culverts is part of a bigger railway improvement project that will run up to 2013.

“The railway is in extremely bad shape and this has affected our operations. Heavy and fast locomotives cannot run on it. We are starting repairs after receiving funds from both our finance partners and internal collections,” he said.

According, to Mr Ondego, by January 2013, the railway will have significant changes that will enable more business operations. However, the railway line will continue to be operational during the repairing period.

A few sections will have to be sealed off for weeks to allow contractors replace old culverts.
During such closures, traffic will have to be diverted through the Kisumu route.

The start of the railway repair comes after RVR announced last month that it had received $49 million, the first tranche of the $164 million from its development partners as part of funds that will be used in upgrading and rehabilitating the over 100 year-old railway line running from Kenya to Uganda.

[keithbas]

Uganda to get 2500 jobs at the completion of the new factory of Roofing at Namanve industrial park in Mukono district.

The Chairman of Roofing group Sikander Lalani disclosed this during the visit of the Chief Executive Standard Bank Africa Chris Newton at the new site in Namanve recently We are now in the last stage of phase three of the project where we shall process all the scraps in our country into construction materials, Lalani informed Newton while touring at Namanve.

“The second phase makes steel rolling mills and the third phase will make cold rolling mills. The phase three work is complete 50 percent”. Said Lalani. Roofing group signed a $64m (sh148b) syndicated loan with six financial institutions to finance its hot-and-cold rolling mill plant at the Namanve Industrial Park. At the tour of the plant, Newton said that this clearly depicted what can be done to develop Uganda than importing materials if we had more of such investors. He added that he was impressed by the work so far done.

The loan, is payable in seven years, will be serviced at 5.25% interest rate. Lalani, the Roofings Group chairman, said the entire three phase project is to cost $1OOm. Phase one is already making galvanised wires.So have when the Namanve planted is completed they will have invested 180 million dollars.

He further noted that they will produce up to 350 tonnes annually of metal works from the new factory and that of Lubowa in Wakiso district. Only 45 percent will be for export to the neighboring countries and the rest would be utlised in Uganda .When completed, the plant will be the largest in the region with scrap collected in Congo and Sudan. The factory is of high technology that environment will not be polluted to danger the health of the people.

According to the Uganda Infrastructure Report, construction industry grew by 12.92% in 2010 to reach a value of (US$2.74bn).Double digit growth is anticipated every year over our forecast period, with construction industry value to reach (US$6.66bn) by 2014.

This makes Roofing to be a key player in the construction industry for Uganda to achieve this goal. On the local market, a cost of those buying scrap, buy it at sh. 800 per kilogram. This is a good income to those who do not have permanent jobs by gathering scrap. The Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Philip Odera, said this loan, is the second of its kind in the country after the $100m signed by MTN in 2010, and demonstrates the sophistication that is beginning to take place in the financial market.

On the bank Interest rates, he said that the will continue to go down according to the markers to allow their clients to afford to expand on their products.

[ciceroji]

The interest rate is excellent. If more companies had access to rates that low Uganda and the EAC economy would be booming. And when I say booming I mean 15%+ growth rates. The loans is probably dollar denominated so no need to worry about local inflation.

[Habesh]

Good to hear Uganda is about to build a steel plant. it's needed much in that part of Africa, but hurry up because soon you will have a much bigger and stronger competition coming from Ethiopia as its plan to build a $600 million steel plant is going to be a reality soon. The country has just completed and inaugurated one of the biggest cement plants in Africa if not the biggest (i have to check on that) three months ago that consumed nearly $550 million ,uses 150MW of electric power and now employes around 20,000 workers. The new steel plant is said to need over 300 mega watts of electric power and creating over 5000 new jobs. Electric power is no problem as 2000 MW was added to the national grid in the last two years and a gigantic dam producing 5500 MW (9th biggest in the world) and another one with 1700 MW are under construction with the later expected to be finished next year and three smaller ones (250mw to 400mw) are also being constructed as we speak so Ugandans better start soon and hard love hearing such news from all across East Africa. Let's do it and Keep up the good work there guys.

[ciceroji]

I am not sure the Midroc plant will be the biggest cement plant in Africa. Dangote, latest plant in Nigeria is 10 million tons per year, and will expanded to 15 million tons. The final plan is to have the largest cement plant n the world.

[ciceroji]

RVR the concessionaire of the Uganda Kenya railway has awarded the tender to repair nine major culverts between Tororo and Jinja to Multiplex ltd a Ugandan Engineering company at a total cost of sh12.2b.

"This marks a historic milestone for RVR and the rehabilitation of the Kenya-Uganda Railway" said Brown Ondego, RVR's Group Chief Executive. The replacement of the nine culverts is one of the priority projects in the Capital Expenditure programme to rehabilitate the railway infrastructure."

He said "Once completed, the reliability and efficiency of our operations will improve significantly as we will be able to operate bigger capacity trains, thereby improving our loading capacity and reducing transit times into Uganda."

RVR recently announced a drawdown of US$ 49 Million, which was the first tranche of the US$ 164 Million from its development finance partners required to improve the Railways' efficiency". Other projects to be undertaken include the replacement of 70Kms of the Railway line along the Mombasa Nairobi section.

Ondego said the tender was advertised last year. It was followed by an invitation to 21 contractors both from Kenya and Uganda. Out of the 21, 12 turned up for the site inspection and 8 were shortlisted and multiplex won it out of the eight.

Moses Bbosa, Managing Director of Multiplex Ltd said a thorough assessment of the requirements had been done and the company would embark on the rehabilitation immediately " We recognize the importance of this contract to East Africa and will give it the necessary attention to ensure we complete the project within the given time frame."

Bbosa said work on the replacement of the nine culverts between is expected to start in 21 days after the signing of the contract and it will last 117 days of construction. Out the days of construction, for 14 days the train will use the Kisumu route.

Also present at the signing was, Jame Nyambari RVR general manager western, Duncan Onyango RVR chief Finance officer and Kyobe Richard, technical director, Multiplex Uganda limited. The event took place in the offices of RVR Railway in Kampala, Nasser Road.

Rift Valley Railways (RVR) is the Kenya-Uganda concessionaire operating freight and passenger rail services in Kenya and Uganda on an exclusive basis. The company was founded in 2006 and has been granted a 25 year mandate to operate railway services on 2,000 kilometers of track linking the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya with the interiors of both Kenya and Uganda, including Kampala.

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/6299...lway-line.html

[u.g boy]

Govt to build two more internet sea cables next year
By Nicholas Kalungi (email the author)

Posted Monday, April 2 2012 at 00:00
IN SUMMARY

The move seeks to shield users against unstable connectivity as it has been witnessed in the past.

Uganda will beginning next financial year invest in two fibre cable projects to protect users from unstable internet connectivity, according to the National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (NITA-U.



In an email exchange, Mr James Saaka, the NITA-U executive director, told Daily Monitor that the government had realised that depending on cables that pass through Kenya was risky thus the need to invest in others that pass through Tanzania and Egypt.

“Uganda has access to three submarine cables that all come through Kenya. As government, we have realised this is risky. Indeed the risk materialised recently when two cables got damaged in about the same time. We have set in motion initiatives to mitigate the risk,” Mr Saaka wrote.

The current cables include Seacom, the East African Marine System (TEAMs) and Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy).

“We are working on setting up a fibre cable between Masaka and Mutukula, to connect through Tanzania. This project will start in the next financial year following a feasibility study.”

“We are also working with Egypt, to set up another fibre cable that will pass through Nimule,” he said.

Uganda is the second largest internet market in East Africa with an estimated five million users. Kenya is the largest with about 14 million users compared to Tanzania’s five million, Rwanda’s 0.8 million users and Burundi’s 0.2 million users.


National Uganda to revive national airline
Publish Date: Apr 02, 2012

Uganda Airlines ceased operations in 2001 after attempts by Govt to privatize it
By Patrick Jaramogi

Government is committed to reviving the national carrier, Uganda Airlines, Vice President Edward Sekandi said on Friday.

Uganda Airlines ceased operations in 2001 after numerous attempts were made by the Government of Uganda to privatize the company, but all potential bidders pulled out, eventually leading to the liquidation of Uganda Airlines Corporation.

“It was an oversight, we are now committed as government to revive. Now that we are getting to greater heights due to many flights into the country, we surely need a national airline,” he said.

Sekandi was meeting the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for the Eastern and Southern Africa, Raymond Benjamin at his offices in Kampala.

Works Minister Eng. Abraham Byandala and a team of CAA officials led by Civil Aviation Managing Director Wenceslaus Rama Makuza attended.

Benjamin who was leading a delegation of ICAO officials during a week-long visit said Uganda was destined to become a leading tourist hub in the Sub Saharan Africa.

“As ICAO we are impressed by the government move to ensure safety of airlines amidst terrorist threats. We hail Uganda government efforts in fighting terrorism,” he said.

Adding; “According to research Uganda is set to become a leading tourist destination due to its central location. Many leading airlines are now channeling their flights to Uganda due to this,” he said.

Benjamin pointed out that the move made by government to have electronic passport was the right move towards fighting terrorism and crime.

“We (ICAO) will support Uganda to have electronic passports. Uganda will now join the other 50 countries with similar systems across the world,” he said.

The system, said Benjamin allows easy tracing of travel documents across the globe at a mere click of the mouse.

“You need international civil aviation systems to cope with the growing flights and to meet the sustainability of the aviation industry,” said Benjamin.

He reiterated the need for government to make immediate steps to cope with the increased increase of flights to Entebbe International Airport.

“Government may need to set up more airports to handle the increased flights. Fields such as Soroti, Gulu, Arua, and Kasese can be remodeled to help meet the challenge,” he said.

Entebbe has over the recent years been overwhelmed with the increase in International flights with recent entrants being Turkish and Qatar airlines.

[u.g boy]

Uganda firm secures RVR tender for repair works
SHARE BOOKMARKPRINTEMAILRATING
By Mugambi Mutegi (email the author)

Posted Sunday, April 1 2012 at 18:39
Ugandan engineering firm Multiplex Ltd has secured a Sh406.7 million tender from Rift Valley Railways (RVR) to repair nine culverts between Tororo and Jinja.

The infrastructure rehabilitation projects are earmarked under the company’s five-year capital expenditure programme at a cost of Sh24.4 billion ($287 million).

The repair of the railway is expected to ease efficiency in transportation of commodities with the knock-on effect of reducing the cost per unit.

“Once completed the reliability of our operations will improve significantly as we will be able to operate bigger capacity trains, thereby improving our loading capacity and reducing transit times into Uganda,” said group chief executive Brown Ondego. “This marks a historic milestone for the rehabilitation of the Kenya-Uganda railway.”

Multiplex managing director Moses Bbosa said that an assessment of the repair requirements had been completed and that the works would begin immediately.

The funding of the projects is being drawn from Sh4.2 billion ($49 million) the Kenya-Uganda railway operator has received from its shareholders.

Necessary attention

Other projects to be undertaken include the replacement of 70 kilometres of the railway line along the Mombasa-Nairobi section.

“We recognise the importance of this contract to the East African Community and will give it the necessary attention to ensure we complete the project within the agreed time frame,” said Mr Bbosa.

Work on the replacement of the nine culverts between Tororo and Jinja is scheduled to start in the next three weeks and last a maximum of three months.



Early last month, Rift Valley Railways disclosed that it would bid to operate a new railway service that planned for Nairobi metropolitan to ease congestion and boost transport efficiency.

The Sh400 billion multi-modal infrastructure project around the city known as the Nairobi Metropolitan Mass Rapid Transport System is meant curb traffic jams that cost the economy a fortune due to a lot time wasted on congested roads.

The initiative will entail construction of a 167 kilometre public road and rail transport grid that will link the city centre with key neighbouring towns including; Kikuyu, Thika, Ruiru, Athi River, Kitengela, Machakos, Limuru, and Kajiado.

Kenya-Uganda railway line concessionaire is 34 per cent owned by TransCentury, 51 per cent by Cairo-based private equity firm Citadel Capital with Uganda’s Bomi Holdings owning 15 per cent.

RVR’s shareholders are betting on the ability to secure huge infrastructural projects being implemented in the region to shore up their earnings.

[u.g boy]

ACHELIS Uganda to invest in small hydropower
Business

TUESDAY, 03 APRIL 2012 23:07 WRITTEN BY SAMUEAL NABWIISO 0 COMMENTS
ACHELIS Uganda, a subsidiary of Achelis International, plans to invest in the construction of small hydro power stations to boost the country's electricity output. Unveiling their intention at the Sheraton Hotel, Achelis Head of Energy Division Mr. Andreas Borck said already feasibility studies are being carried out on potential power sites.

"We are looking for right sites and good conditions possible for investment in small hydro power stations," he said.

Borck wants government to offer them tenders to construct mini hydro power stations in rural areas to ease the high electricity tariffs experienced by many Ugandans.

"We need clear guidelines for bigger investments in as small hydro power stations. Government should promote these projects through public private partnerships," he said.

He justified why they are interested in mini hydro power projects, explaining that they are easy to manage. Borck advised Government to focus more on mini hydro power projects just as it is in Rwanda and Burundi.

"Currently these two countries are not experiencing power shortage because much effort has been dedicated on developing small hydro power projects," he said.

Some of the projects that have been developed in Rwanda include the Rukarara small hydro power project that cost $23.5m. Others include the Nyabarango hydro power project that produces 28MW and the ongoing Rusumo project. The general manager Achelis Uganda, Mr. Hans George Hinterberger, advocates for the need for government guarantees to those investing in mini hydropower projects.

"We need urgent support in form of guarantees to enable private companies invest in hydro power projects in rural areas," he said.

Nine out of ten Ugandans do not have access to electricity.

[keithbas]

Loadshedding to reduce to two hours per day



The 250-megawatt Bujagali hydropower plant that started supplying electricity to the national grid in February added another 50 megawatts to the national grid last week, the project sponsor has confirmed.

Bujagali Energy Ltd said the reliability test run for the second 50 megawatt unit was completed last week, bringing to 100 megawatts the total amount of power being generated from the project. “We started production of the second 50MW at the start of last week which has increased generation capacity from the plant to 100MW.

This should therefore improve supply to the transmission and distribution companies,” Sithe Global Vice President and Bujagali Project Director Glenn Gaydar said.
Energy Minister Simon D’Ujanga said the additional megawatts will reduce load-shedding from the current 12 hours to at most two hours.

“I am sure you do not get constant load-shedding anymore in the recent past and going forward, it is going to be very minimal. Instead of having no electricity every other day, it will go off for fewer hours and fewer days in a week,” Mr D’Ujanga said.

Umeme’s chief commercial officer Florence Nsubuga in support said there, will, indeed, be reduced load-shedding as a result of the additional 50MW from Bujagali.

Share This Story

Share



However, Uganda Electricity Transmission Company insists that the additional 50MW is only a replacement of the lost power from the defunct thermal plant at Mutundwe.

“We were receiving 50MW from Aggreko so this is just a replacement of that power which brings it to a total of 335MW produced in totality to serve the entire population which leaves us with a deficit of 125MW since we need at least 455MW to have constant power supply to the entire country,” UETCL spokesperson Kenneth Otim said.


Decommissioned
Government has so far decommissioned two emergency power plants; 50MW at Mutundwe and another 50MW plant in Jinja, bringing the total amount of thermal power generated down by 100MW. Power from Bujagali dam is filling this gap.

Government last November said it was decommissioning all the emergency thermal plants which have cost the nation Shs1.53 trillion since 2005 in subsidies.

Government plans to use the savings to finance public infrastructure projects, including the construction of the 600MW Karuma Hydropower Project, whose construction is expected to start in June 2012, as well as extend the transmission lines.

Industry experts say Bujagali will only provide temporary relief as demand is growing at 9 per cent per annum. Power demand is currently at 450MW against the supply of 350MW.

Mr Henry Rugamba, Umeme’s head of communications, said: “Bujagali, when fully commissioned, will be a game changer for only 12 months.”

Other industry players well versed with the power sector, however, expect the country to be able to comfortably meet demand post-Bujagali for about 3 years.

Mr D’Janga insists there is hope for more power supply from Bujagali which is expected to generate a total of 250MW by July this year. He said a third unit that will generate another 50MW is expected next month.
Presently, the government is focused on the 600MW Karuma dam.