Minister Anite defends Lagan DOTT Namanve over delayed industrial park road works

By Evans Najuna

KAMPALA – The state minister for Finance in charge of privatization and investment Evelyn Anite has hailed Lagan DOTT Namanve for the work done as far as the progress of road network construction in Kampala Investment Business Park – Namanve (KIBP) is concerned.

Anite made these recommendation remarks after a guided tour by officials from Lagan DOTT- the project implementers together with officials from the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA). The Minister was accompanied by Director General of UIA Robert Mukiza and UIA board chair Morrison Rwakakamba.

In an interaction with the invited members of the press, the Minister said that she was so far impressed by the progress of the work done despite the delays which she said was a result of COVID-19.

She is optimistic the contractor will finish in time.

“Whereas the contractor is at 40% with one year left to end the contract, I am sure they will work day and night to complete in time. Everyone should remember Covid was here and all that time work could not go on. We don’t want to go into penalties but we are going to sit down with them and see how they finish the remaining percentage,” Anite said.

Works are supposed to be completed by 2025.

Conclusively, the minister said through their inspection tour was have been able to ascertain the progress and time spent, approximately a total of 40% has been done with a time flame of 1year left which explains a double effort into the work but also going back to a drawing board and organise how finish the remaining 60% with 1year.

She briefly recalled the history of Namanve industrial park as a death trap but later the government took the decision of developing it. She credited NRM’s government and President Museveni for the decision of gazetting it as an industrial area as contributing factor towards industrialization of the country and job creation totaling 250,000 jobs to the people of Uganda.

The Minister was very impressed to see most of the roads tarmacked unlike before. She was also informed that Lagan DOTT Namanve will be able to drain the water from the industrial park to River Namanve into Lake Victoria, an issue she said has been worrying because the area is a wetland.

According to Anite, prior to her appointment and from 1991 to 2016, there were only about 15 factories in the area like Roofings, Coca cola among others that pioneered the call of industrial development.

The Minister further explained that, in 2016 when they decided to develop it. They faced some financial challenges and the World Bank was not even willing to finance infrastructure development projects.

But along the way there came Lagan DOTT Namanve Limited, a joint venture established between UK contractors Lagan Group Limited and DOTT Services Limited to develop the infrastructure for the Namanve based Kampala Industrial Business Park (KIBP). That this was a huge relief to the government because it could not finance it through it’s National budget frameworks.

Lagan DOTT Namanve bosses said they are committed to complete the works within the stipulated time.

The Kampala Investment Business Park (KIBP) has allocated a total of 368 companies with the current total of 133 in operation at a total 154 in construction stage, 90 in preparation stages (titling, surveying, NEMA), 19 Newly allocated, expecting to harness a total of 22,743 direct jobs and 159,201 indirect jobs this will bring a total of 250,000 direct on completion with 500 factories after completion.

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