By Joshua Niyonshima and Photography by Irene Kabakama
The Commissioner General of Uganda Revenue Authority John R Musinguzi visited Liao Shen industrial park in Kapeeka and commended investors on positively turning around Uganda’s economy.
The visit was intended to strengthen the relationship between URA and its stakeholders in the manufacturing industry.
Mr. Musinguzi toured six firms; Hua Hui International Ltd for ceramic products, Nan Nan Shoes, Wuxi Taiyu (Uganda) Mfg. Company Ltd for fishing wear, Jindi Agricultural Science and hardware for agricultural equipment, Good Will ceramics for tiles, EBEI International for socks knitting, and Liao Shen bonded warehouse.
Apart from developing the economy, the factories are employing Ugandans especially the youth. Good Will Ceramics employs 900 workers while the rest of the industries employ between 100 to 500 Ugandans.
During the visit, it was also established that 90% of the raw materials used are locally made. At Hua Hui and Good Will Ceramics, only the cleansing component is imported and the rest are local clay and marble from Uganda.
Brief on Liao Shen Industrial Park
Established in Kapeeka in 2015, Liao Shen Industrial Park started with one Factory and currently houses 19 factories with active operations. These have provided employment to Ugandans and also enabled the government’s plan of import substitution and export promotion.
This has also increased revenue in import duty. From July 2021 to June 2022, imports to the park registered a tax contribution of UGX 52,581,743,720 and exports worth USD 22,266,360.
From July to December 2022, import duty from the park totalled to UGX 32,171,345,092 and an export value of USD 13,137,796.
According to the Uganda Investment Authority, Uganda currently has 11 operational industrial and business parks, with 166 operational industries, which have created 42,488 direct jobs and 59,800 indirect jobs, totaling 102,288 jobs.
Government’s target is to have 25 industrial parks by 2026.
