President Museveni has pledged government support for the establishment of the Nonda Coffee Park in Nakaseke District, a landmark agro-industrial project expected to transform Uganda's coffee sector through large-scale value addition, job creation and expanded export markets.
The commitment followed a meeting at State House, Entebbe, with a delegation from Nonda Coffee Park led by its Chief Executive Officer, Tonny Miiro Kibuuka, who briefed the President on the progress of the project and sought additional government support ahead of its groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for October this year.
The proposed coffee park, located on a 100-acre site in Butalangu Town Council, Nakaseke District, is projected to become the largest single coffee processing facility in East and Central Africa. Once completed, the plant will have the capacity to process 42,000 metric tonnes of coffee annually, sourcing coffee from Uganda's Central Region and other coffee-growing areas.
According to Miiro, the project forms part of the Great Uganda-Saudi Coffee Corridor under the Value-at-Source Coffee Project, Uganda's flagship private-sector-led industrialisation initiative aimed at ensuring a greater share of the coffee value chain remains within the country before export.
"The President has committed his support to this project, particularly in mobilising coffee farming households to prepare for the increased demand for coffee that will be required by the factory," Miiro said after the meeting.
He explained that, unlike the traditional model where Uganda exports largely unprocessed coffee beans, the Value-at-Source initiative seeks to process coffee domestically, enabling the country to earn significantly more from its leading export commodity.
The coffee park represents an investment of approximately Shs730 billion, making it one of Uganda's largest agro-processing projects.
Of this, about Shs584 billion will be invested directly in the development of the coffee park and related infrastructure on the 100-acre site in Butalangu.
The Government of Uganda is expected to contribute Shs160.6 billion, while the remaining financing will come from private investors from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ready Export Market
One of the project's biggest advantages, according to Miiro, is that it already has an established export market.
He revealed that coffee processed at the facility has been earmarked for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under an existing commercial arrangement.
"This project is already mapped to the off-take market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There is a ready market waiting for the coffee because we are the first Ugandan company to own coffee shops in the Middle East," he said.
Miiro added that the company currently operates two Ugandan-branded coffee shops in Saudi Arabia.
The facility is projected to generate annual revenues exceeding Shs2.92 trillion, significantly increasing Uganda's foreign exchange earnings from coffee exports.
Construction has already commenced with preparatory works at the site, and the project is expected to be completed within the next 24 months.
Preparations are also underway for the official groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for October this year.
"Our purpose in meeting the President was to thank him for the support he has committed to this project and also to inform him about the proposed groundbreaking ceremony later this year," Miiro said.
The meeting was attended by Attorney General Sam Mayanja, Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Henry Musasizi, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Jonard Asiimwe, Coordinator of the Islamic Development Funds Hajji Habib Migadde, and other stakeholders involved in implementing the project.