Chinese Factories in Mbale Industrial Park Rise to Champion Environmental Protection

In 2022, disastrous floods hit Sino Uganda Industrial Park in Mbale leaving a trail of destruction.

The floods that hit Mbale City on July 30 and 31, 2022 killed over 20 people all together and destroyed several infrastructures including at the industrial park.

Fast forward, May 2025, the park basks in a changed environment after Chinese factories   implemented and promoted sustainable practices throughout their operations.

“That incident of floods made us adopt strategies to change for the better. We then started the Health, Safety and Environment department which started an awareness campaign all over the park,” says Dan Akampurira, the Head of the Health, Safety & Environment department at Tian Tang Group which takes charge of the industrial park.

“Most of our investors were green and didn’t know how best they could manage the environment and the floods were a wakeup call. We started giving trainings to different workers and managers of the various factories. They started understanding that it was their responsibility to ensure they protect the environment,”

He explains that practices like proper disposal of waste and rubbish were taught to employees and managers of the factories.

“They learnt that throwing rubbish anyhow would see it go to the drainage, block it and when it rains, the drainage would overflow, leading to floods. Many didn’t have this idea but because of the trainings, many slowly by slowly adapted.”

He says the park invested in opening and reconstructing the drainage channels to ensure water flows well.

According to Akampurira, from time to time, they are engaging officials from National Environment Management Authority and Mbale City Council on best practices to manage the environment inside the industrial park.

This way, he says they ensure they adhere to the required regulations by the environment body and city authorities.

“We also got officials from NEMA and Mbale City to come and talk to investors in regards to environment management and protection. We wanted the investors to know that if they don’t enforce environmental measures, they are answerable but above all, nature would take its course and floods return.”

Water Treatment

Akampurira says in a bid to deal with pollution, they invested in a $2.5 million water treatment system with seven tanks each with a capacity of two million litres.

The systems works in such a way that waste water from the factories is treated and reused over five times before it is spilled way.

With this treatment system, water is not wasted but rather recycled but also treated before discharge.

“Within three days, the water is fully treated and then re-used back in the factory for production and other purposes.”

"Our goal is that in a few years, all wastewater generated within this park will be treated and reused internally, with no discharge outside. We even aim to treat and reuse wastewater from the neighboring community in the future,”Akampurira says.

Jacob Wataka, the LC1 chairperson for Nsambya Cell in the Industrial City Division of Mbale City said since the 2022 floods incident, there have been several changes, mostly engineered by the industrial park.

“There have been several proactive measures to prevent environmental degradation, such as digging proper water channels and establishing a green belt. They factory also uses high tech machines which have minimized emissions,” Wataka says.

Mbale City Senior Public Relations Officer James Kutosi admits to changes in terms of environmental protection by the industrial park.

“There were a number of issues between the park and the community, particularly regarding environmental concerns. However, over time, there have been substantial developments within the industrial park. Environmental concerns have been addressed that we now view the park not as a problem, but rather as a solution for our communities,” Kutosi says.

He also mentioned a waste treatment facility in the industrial park that also recycles waste from outside the industrial park.

He adds that such measures have contributed to a better environment .