The Osukuru Industrial Complex sometimes referred to as Sukulu Industrial Complex, is a set of related industries, in the mining and manufacturing sectors, under construction in Uganda, the third-largest economy in the East African Community.

Location

The factories of Osukuru Industrial Complex are located in the Sukulu Hills in Osukuru County, Tororo District,

Eastern Region Eastern Region or East Region may refer to: * Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain *Eastern Region, Ghana *Eastern Region (Iceland) *Eastern Region, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia * Eastern Region, Uganda * Eastern Region of ...

of Uganda, just outside the town of

Tororo Tororo is a town in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Tororo District. History Tororo was garrisoned by the Uganda Army's Air and Sea Battalion during the Uganda–Tanzania War ( ...

and approximately , by road, east of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. The approximate coordinates of the Osukuru Industrial Complex are: 0°37'25.0"N, 34°09'13.0"E (Latitude:0.623611; Longitude:34.153611).

Overview

The industrial complex will consist of (1) a phosphate fertilizer factory, (2) a steel manufacturing factory, (3) a

sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

manufacturing factory, (4) a rare earth minerals mining plant, and (5) the Osukuru Thermal Power Station with capacity generation of 12 megawatts. In addition, the complex includes the largest organic fertilizer factory in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

, with capacity of 300,000 metric tonnes of organic fertiliser annually. The industrial complex sits on of land in Osukuru sub-county and in neighboring Rubongi sub-county, Tororo District, close to the international border with Kenya. The industrial complex will support over 1,700 jobs once completed.

History

A considerable amount of minerals, particularly flint, phosphorus and iron, have been known to exist in the Sukulu Hills south-west of the town of Tororo as far back as 1954. Starting around 2008, the

government of Uganda Uganda is a presidential republic in which the President of Uganda is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government business. There is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is ...

, began engaging various investors, including a local firm Nilefos Limited, a subsidiary of the Madhvani Group, to commercially exploit the deposits. Local landowners in the mining area, however, filed a lawsuit against the government, protesting the development. The landowners lost that case in 2010. In 2013, the government began negotiations with Guangzhou Dong Song Energy Company Limited from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

to set up a mining and manufacturing operation at Osukuru. In 2014, the government and landowners agreed that exploration and construction should begin.

Construction timeline

The project will cost an estimated US$560 million to US$620 million and will be jointly owned by the Government of Uganda and Guangzhou Dong Song Energy Company Limited, a private Chinese company. Construction began in 2014 and was expected to last two years. Commissioning was expected during the fourth quarter of 2016. After delays, construction resumed in October 2015, starting with office blocks and staff housing. Construction is by the 23rd Metallurgical Construction Group Company Limited. When fully operational, the industrial complex is expected to employ more than 1,000 people. Funding is provided by China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (SINOSURE) and

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC; ) is a Chinese multinational bank. Founded as a limited company on 1 January 1984, ICBC is a state-owned commercial bank. With capital provided by the Ministry of Finance of China, the ...

(ICBC). In February 2016, the developers reached financial closure with ICBC for a loan worth US$240 million. Some of the industries in the complex are expected to be commissioned in October 2018.

Starting operations

In March 2018, the industrial complex advertised the first 92 jobs, looking to hire

welder In a broad sense, a welder is anyone, amateur or professional, who uses welding equipment, perhaps especially one who uses such equipment fairly often. In a narrower sense, a welder is a tradesperson who specializes in fusing materials together ...

s, storekeepers, drivers,

security guard A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) from a variety ...

s and

supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position that is primarily based on authority over workers or ...

s. The MoU that Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group signed with the government calls for employing people from Tororo District first, going outside the district only when the desired skills or expertise are lacking. In August 2018,

Irene Muloni Irene Nafuna Muloni is a Ugandan electrical engineer, businesswoman and politician and also a Senior Presidential Advisor to Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. She was previously Cabinet Minister for Energy and Minerals in the Uganda ...

, Uganda's Minister of Energy, commissioned the ''Uganda-China Guangdong Free Zone for International Cooperation'', in which the Osukuru Industrial Complex is located. During the same month,

Matia Kasaija Matia Kasaija is a Ugandan politician. He is the current Minister of Finance in Uganda's Cabinet. He was appointed to that position on 1 March 2015, replacing Maria Kiwanuka, who was appointed to Senior Presidential Advisor for Finance. From 27 ...

, Uganda's Finance Minister, commissioned the fertilizer plant, with the steel plant expected online in July 2019. As of August 2018, the industrial complex employed about 1,000 people. The phosphate fertilizer plant was commissioned on 23 October 2018. Steel production is expected to begin in July 2019. The first phase of the development is expected to employ an estimated 1,400 people at completion. This number s expected to rise to 3,000 people after completion of the second phase. In November 2018, the

Daily Monitor The ''Daily Monitor'' is a Ugandan independent daily newspaper. Its name is shared by the ''Saturday Monitor'' and ''Sunday Monitor'', which are also published by Monitor Publications Limited. ''Daily Monitor'' averaged a daily circulation of 24,2 ...

reported that a brick-baking division, embedded within the industrial complex was operational and manufactured 10,000 building bricks daily, with capacity production of 2.6 million bricks annually.

References

External links

Makerere University Signs Quadripartite Memorandum of Understanding to Enhance Tororo Fertilizer Production
{{Tororo District Industry in Uganda Tororo District 2018 establishments in Uganda