UNOC Launches Investment Drive for Kabalega Industrial Park
Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) has launched investment opportunities at the Kabalega Industrial Park (KIP), inviting local and international investors to participate.
The Kabalega Park has been described by the government as a cornerstone of the country’s strategy to transform its petroleum resources into broad-based industrial and economic growth.
The virtual launch showcased the investment potential of the 29.57-square-kilometre petro-based industrial park in Hoima District, which will support Uganda’s refinery project while hosting a wide range of manufacturing, agro-processing, logistics and commercial enterprises.
Speaking during the launch, UNOC Chief Executive Officer Proscovia Nabbanja said the industrial park is central to the company’s mandate of maximising value from Uganda’s petroleum resources across the entire value chain while contributing to the country’s socio-economic transformation.
“The purpose is to create value for generations,” Nabbanja said, noting that the park forms part of UNOC’s expanding midstream portfolio, alongside the refinery, East African Crude Oil Pipeline, Kampala Storage Terminal and other strategic petroleum infrastructure.
She said the Kabalega Industrial Park, located about 50 kilometres west of Hoima City near Lake Albert, was handed over to UNOC by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development in 2018 and is managed through its subsidiary, the Uganda Refinery Holding Company.
The park has been planned around six development zones comprising heavy industry, light manufacturing, agro-processing, business and logistics facilities, residential estates and an administrative centre with a one-stop business centre bringing together key government agencies.
According to Nabbanja, the heavy industrial zone will host the refinery, petrochemical complex, fertiliser plant, polymer production facilities, bonded warehousing and a free trade area.
Other zones will accommodate industries such as textiles, automotive parts, biofuels, food processing, hospitality, warehousing and housing developments.
She said all development within the park is guided by a master plan completed in 2017 and approved by the National Physical Planning Board in 2018, providing the project with a clear legal and planning framework.
Nabbanja said environmental and social safeguards have been integrated into the project from the outset, with a strategic environmental and social impact assessment completed during the planning stage and approved by the Ministry of Water and Environment in 2023.
She added that while the overall park has received environmental approval, every individual project established within it will still be required to undertake separate environmental impact assessments before construction begins.
To ensure transparency in investor selection, Nabbanja said UNOC has established a structured stage-gate process that includes technical evaluation, due diligence, governance approvals and lease execution before land is allocated.
She also outlined an infrastructure development programme estimated at about US$814.46 million, to be implemented in three phases.
0 Comments