Hajjati Aminah Mukalazi, (centre), the state minister for privatisation and investment touring the Terra Industrial Development Company in Ntungamo. Kong Dong Sheng (left), the Managing Director of Terra Industrial Development Company looks on as a worker explains the process
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Twelve months after meeting President Yoweri Museveni with a proposal to establish Uganda’s first pig-iron processing factory, Chinese investors have successfully operationalised the country’s maiden plant.
This marks a major milestone in Uganda’s drive to add value to its mineral resources and reduce dependence on imports.
The Shs49 billion facility, owned by Terra Industrial Development Company, has commenced production at Rwenanura Town Council in Ntungamo District, barely a year after construction began in July 2025.
Government officials have hailed the development as a significant step towards industrialisation, saying the plant will strengthen Uganda’s steel manufacturing value chain while saving the country billions of shillings in foreign exchange previously spent on importing pig iron.
Pig iron is an intermediate form of iron produced by smelting iron ore. Containing between 3.5 and 4.5 percent carbon, it serves as the principal raw material for manufacturing steel, cast iron and ductile iron.
Uganda attracts genuine investors
State Minister for Privatisation and Investment, Aminah Mukalazi, described the project as evidence that Uganda is attracting genuine investors capable of delivering on their commitments within a short period.
“This is a serious investor. Within just one year of inauguration, he has commenced production,” Mukalazi said during a visit to the factory on Saturday.
She was received by the company’s Managing Director, Kong Dong Sheng, and senior management, who took her on a guided tour of the production facility and briefed her on the progress made since construction commenced.
The project traces its origins to a meeting held last year at State Lodge Nakasero, where President Museveni met the Chinese investors and pledged government support to facilitate the establishment of Uganda’s first pig-iron processing plant.
At the meeting, which was also attended by Mukalazi in her capacity as head of the State House Local Content Unit, the investors assured the President that they would begin production within the shortest time possible.
Purity level of 93 percent
The company committed to establishing a factory capable of producing pig iron with a purity level of 93 percent, a target that has now been realised following the commissioning of the first production line.
President Museveni has consistently championed value addition in Uganda’s mining sector, insisting that the country should stop exporting unprocessed minerals and instead develop domestic industries capable of creating jobs, generating revenue and promoting technology transfer.
During last year’s engagement with the investors, the President reiterated the government’s policy against the export of raw minerals, arguing that processing them locally would maximise economic benefits for Ugandans.
Mukalazi said the speed with which Terra Industrial Development Company delivered the project demonstrates the investor’s commitment to supporting Uganda’s industrial transformation agenda.
“We are going to closely work with this investor to ensure he achieves full production capacity with no encumbrances,” she told New Vision.
She added that one of the most impressive aspects of the project is its innovative production process, which utilizes factory waste as one of the primary raw materials for manufacturing pig iron.
Raw materials procured locally
The plant also draws raw materials from the company’s mining operations in Kabale, combining them with waste generated by steel industries to produce high-quality pig iron.
This approach not only supports value addition but also promotes environmental sustainability by converting industrial waste into commercially valuable products.
According to the company’s Deputy General Manager, Brian Banura, commercial production is expected to be officially unveiled in September this year.
Banura said the factory will primarily supply Uganda’s steel manufacturers, many of whom have traditionally relied on imported pig iron to produce steel products, cast iron and other industrial materials.
He noted that local production will significantly reduce the country’s import bill while strengthening domestic manufacturing.
Banura also appealed to Ugandans to embrace local content by supporting industries that process raw materials within the country instead of exporting them in their unprocessed form.
He explained that materials now being transformed into pig iron were previously regarded as industrial waste and discarded.
Uganda Government’s ban bears fruit
Before the government’s ban on the export of unprocessed minerals, the company exported raw iron ore. However, following the policy shift championed by President Museveni, Terra Industrial Development Company invested in local processing, enabling Uganda to retain more value from its mineral resources.
The operationalisation of the country’s first pig-iron processing plant is expected to boost Uganda’s steel industry, create employment opportunities, expand the country’s manufacturing base and advance the government’s broader strategy of industrialisation through value-addition.
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