NWOYA, UGANDA: Bukona Agro Processors Limited, the manufacturers of Ethanol is planning to invest a total of $4 million in the expansion of the project.
The investment project commissioned by President Yoweri Museveni in March this year is located at Lapem village, Koch Goma sub-country in Nwoya district.
Apart from manufacturing Ethanol, the investment also includes a Green Fuel Uganda project which produces energy stoves that use ethanol got from processed cassava.
The e-stoves, which are ethanol powered, are deemed to be clean, safe, economical, environmental friendly and emission free. Each stove with a guarantee of lasting up to ten years is sold at Shs 250,000 while a litre of ethanol to power it costs Shs 3700 and lasts for one and half days.
“We want the $4 million to increase on the number of litres of cassava from the current 40,000 to 50, 000,” said the company’s Managing Director Pravin Kekal.
He said this in a meeting held with the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) Director for Investment Promotion and Development Ms Sheila Mugyenzi (on the left) at the factory premises in Nwoya.
The meeting was also attended by UIA Director for Small and Medium Enterprises Ms. Winnie Lawoko-Olwe, Ms Prossy Kikabi, the Acting Deputy Director Business Development and Mr. Emmanuel Kaye UIA Environment Officer.
The team from Investment Promotion and Development, Business Development and Aftercare Services were in Nwoya to monitor the progress on the implementation of the project.
Mr. Kekal decried the effects of COVID-19 that forced the company to close for three months.
“What is threatening is that the COVID-19 was not killing people due to strict adherence conditions set by government but now the pandemic is a serious threat,” he said adding that the other challenge is the intermittent power supply that is affecting our production capacity,”
He added the factory has created 150 jobs with a large number of people in the district are also engaged in growing cassava as the raw material to produce Ethanol that is used for making alcohol and fuel used for cooking in a denatured Ethanol Stove.
Ms Mugyenzi hailed the project for addressing the rampant level of unemployment among the youth and local people in the sub-region.
She urged farmers to work hand in hand with the factory owners to grow cassava for the continuation of the project and to improve their livelihood.
