President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has pledged government support for the USD 200 million Nonda Coffee Park project in Nakaseke District.
The facility will occupy 100 acres of land in Butalangu Town Council. It will become the largest single coffee processing complex across East and Central Africa.
President Museveni met with a project delegation at State House Entebbe to review progress ahead of the official groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for October this year.
Nonda Coffee Park Chief Executive Officer Mr. Tonny Miiro Kibuuka led the team during the presidential briefing.
The upcoming plant will process 42,000 metric tons of raw coffee beans every year. It will draw harvests from farming communities across central Uganda and surrounding regions.
The venture forms part of the Great Uganda-Saudi Coffee Corridor under the private sector's Value-at-Source initiative.
Mr. Miiro confirmed the outcome of the high-level meeting with the President.
“The President has committed his support to this project, particularly in mobilizing coffee farming households to prepare for the increased demand for coffee that will be required by the factory,” Mr. Miiro said.
Out of the total investment, private investors from Saudi Arabia will inject USD 160 million directly into facility construction. The Government of Uganda will contribute USD 44 million to support project infrastructure.
The project features a guaranteed export buyer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“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,” Mr. Miiro said.
The processing park is expected to generate over USD 800 million in annual revenues once fully operational.
Preliminary construction works are already underway at the Nakaseke site. Full site completion will take approximately 24 months.
“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,” Mr. Miiro said.
Cabinet ministers and senior officials attended the State House meeting. They included Attorney General Hon. Sam Mayanja; Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Hon. Henry Musasizi; Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Eng. Jonard Asiimwe; and Coordinator of the Islamic Development Funds Hajji Habib Migadde.
