Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni launched on Friday an industrial park jointly developed by Chinese investors in the African country's eastern district of Mbale.
The park, covering an area of about 2.51 square km, stretches into three villages in Bukasakya sub-county.
The Chinese involvement in the Mbale Industrial Park will promote the industrialization process of the country, boost its economy and improve the living standards of local citizens, Museveni said.
Calling upon Ugandans to provide amiable hospitality towards Chinese investors, the president said the project will employ people in neighboring and far-off areas.P Zhang Zhigang, chairperson of Tian Tang Group, a Chinese firm with 16 years of existence in the country, said he believes the park will create more than 15,000 local jobs after its completion.
"We plan to bring in 50 companies to the park, dealing in glass, furniture and machine manufacturing, food processing, smart phone and car assembly, new energy and so on," he said.
Uganda's good governance has facilitated investment of Chinese firms in the nation, Zhang said, adding that they expected to "make the park a manufacturing center for Uganda and export the products to the whole of Africa and even the world."
Evelyn Anite, state minister for investment, said that the launch of the park was a defined strategy to develop Uganda's manufacturing industry, adding that the nation launched 11 industrial parks in the last two years.
Finance Minister Matia Kasaija called on those working on the development of the parks to learn from the Chinese investors.
"The Chinese have a culture of diligence, insistence on accuracy and strict time management. Acquire some of these skills and work ethics as you work with them, so you can use these skills to develop our economy," Kasaija said.