By David Rupiny
President Yoweri Museveni has pledged government support to a new iron ore processing factory in the southwestern district of Ntungamo.
The President made the commitment during a meeting with the directors of Terra Industrial Development Company (TIDC), the company that established the iron ore processing plant, Uganda’s first pig iron processing factory capable of producing pig iron with a purity level of 93 percent.
The TIDC delegation was led by the Managing Director, Kong Dong Sheng.
Pig iron is the brittle, high-carbon crude metal produced by smelting iron ore. It serves as the foundational raw material for manufacturing steel and cast iron. It gets its unusual name from historical sand-casting methods, which resembled a mother pig nursing her piglets.
President Museveni said the government is pushing for value addition of local raw materials, ending the export of unprocessed minerals to maximize employment opportunities, industrial growth, and revenue generation within the country.
The President assured the investors that the government, through relevant ministries, departments, and agencies, would address any bottlenecks in order to ensure smooth production and investment expansion.
This marks a significant milestone in Uganda’s efforts to process its mineral resources locally instead of exporting raw materials.
Uganda has vast investment opportunities in the minerals sector. Mineral development is part of the four pillars of Uganda’s Tenfold Economic Growth Strategy that aims to increase the GDP to $500 million by 2040. The others are Agro-industrialisation, Tourism Development, and Science, Technology, and Innovation.
Meanwhile, the President Museveni also hailed the investors’ involvement in the country’s health manufacturing sector through Sino-Africa Medical Devices, a subsidiary company that is producing World Health Organisation-prequalified long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets, key in fighting malaria.
The President said the government would consider allocating funds to begin procuring mosquito nets from the company.
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