Kiira cars to cut govt spending – minister
- Written by Alfred Ochwo
Officials inspect the construction site
A huge chunk of government money is spent on dollar importation of fuel and vehicles but that spending will be pared back by local car manufacturing and new found oil, Dr Elioda Tumwesigye, minister for Science, Technology and Innovation has said.
Speaking during the on-the-ground tour of the Kiira Vehicle Plant construction project at Jinja Industrial and Business Park in Kagogwa Village, Mawoito Parish, Kakira Town Council, Tumwesigye said his ministry will provide policy guidance and strategic oversight to Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) as well as establish the corporation’s governance (Board of Directors and Corporate Governance Charter) and management structures.
KMC is on course to start manufacturing about 5,000 hybrid cars every year.
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE
Government has allocated 100 acres of land at Jinja Industrial and Business Park and a seed fund of Shs 143.7billion for four years from the financial year 2018/19 – 2021/22 to kick-start operations of the Kiira Vehicle Plant with expected funding of Shs 24bn in the financial year 2018/19; Shs 44bn in financial year 2019/20; Shs 43bn in financial year 2020/21 and Shs 32.7bn in financial year 2021/22.
“The ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development approved the feasibility study for setting up the Kiira Vehicle Plant and Shs 24bn was allocated to my ministry for activities in the financial year (FY) 2018/19. So far, Shs 21.586bn out of Shs 24billion has been released to KMC for the financial year 2018/19 planned activities,” Tumwesigye said.
The design specifications and bills of quantities for the plant start-up facilities have been developed and approved by relevant authorities since July 2018, he explained.
The start-up facilities include; the assembly shop and plant offices, plant circulation roads, power and water distribution systems, waste management facilities, perimeter fence and gate facilities, the drainage system and whole vehicle test facilities.
The design consultant employed 26 Ugandans during the execution of this project and was funded by government through Makerere University, he said. The construction and installation of a 3.7km long 33kV medium voltage electricity line connecting the Kiira Vehicle Plant Site to the national electricity grid was executed by Kirchof Technician Ltd and was completed, tested and commissioned by UMEME.
The construction and installation of a 5.4km long 6-inch water pipeline connecting the plant site to the municipal water supply system was completed, tested and commissioned by NWSC. This project was executed by GETS Technical Services Ltd.
The contract for opening up key roads at the Jinja Industrial and Business Park was signed in March 2019. The site was handed over on May 3 2019 to Free Construction Ltd, the Contractor Supervised by KOM Consultants. Tumwesigye said Kiira Motors Corporation has developed a roadmap for the domestic manufacture of auto-parts in Uganda and secured accreditation from PPDA for an alternative system for procurement of auto-parts Suppliers providing for sample part development and accreditation of the production part manufacturing system.
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Comments
E.g., which of our current flamboyant government officials, some of whom despise "Toyota Land Cruiser TX" would like ride a rudimentary Kiira car (To Whom It May Concern)?