Construction of a US$1.4M industrial park in Adjumani District, Uganda is nearing completion. A team of State House officials and the district led by the Resident District Commissioner, Mr Peter Taban Data inspected the project and confirmed the progress is at 90%.
The industrial park was to sit on a 1,120 acres of land in the Adjumani District that was offered by Palaro clan Chief Zachary Baker. However, Ms Lucy Nakyobe, the then State House comptroller, and Mr Anthony Namara, the commissioner of Local Economic Connection, rejected the land, saying it neither had roads nor electricity and water networks. The district then transferred the project to the farm institute at Ulia, Pakele Sub-county.
According to Mr Willison Rumanzi, the project engineer, the facility would have been complete by now had they not been delayed by bad weather and the outbreak of Covid-19. Remaining works on the project include landscaping, tarmacking the pass ways and other final touches
“Since the contract was awarded to us last year, we have faced setbacks caused by bad weather and partly the lockdown, which affected our efficiency. However, we will be able to finish and hand over the facility to the district in less than two months,” said Mr Rumanzi.
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Reduce youth unemployment
Upon completion, the industrial park will boost development in West Nile Sub-region. Commissioner Data added that it will reduce the challenge of youth unemployment.
“The facility will benefit thousands of unemployed youth in the three districts of Madi Sub-region, directly or indirectly. Once several factories are built here, they can either work at the park as employees or supply raw materials which will be required to run them,” said Mr. Data.
Other industrial parks in the sub-region are; Oraba Industrial Park, which lies at the Ugandan border with South Sudan and DR Congo, and Zombo regional industrial hub established by the State House at the district firm institute in Zombo District.
