Uganda to export steel under AGOA
Tembo Steels Uganda Ltd, one of the leading steel manufacturers in the country, will by mid next month unveil a multi-million dollar stainless steel plant at their Iganga factory and embark on the exportation of the product (stainless steel) to the U.S market.
The firm's Chairman, Mr Sanjay P.K, told journalists on October 10, at their Iganga plant that they have invested up to $10m in the plant with the purpose of engaging in 100 percent export of the product to the US as a means of exploiting the AGOA initiative.
He said the plant would be in full production by the start of November. "We are taking advantage of President Yoweri Museveni's appeal to local firms to add value to their products as a means of benefiting from the AGOA initiative of zero percent export tariff," Sanjay said.
"We have invested $10 million in the new project, our products should be ready in the market by November and we should be exporting them to the U.S by Jan 2006. It's a great opportunity to export through AGOA and we have been working tirelessly towards acheiving it, he added.
Mr Sham Argawal, the Managing Director, said apart from being the first steel plant in Uganda to exploit the AGOA initiative, they would also be the first in the East African region and second in Africa as a whole after South Africa, to produce stainless steel, which he said is greatly demanded in the construction sector today.
"We will produce high quality stainless steel ingots, angles and rods, which are on demand in the construction sector and other beautification work in the first phase," he said.
He said to ensure quality as per the US market requirements, they will set up the "Laddel-Refining Furnace", which is the end of refining process in steel.He said the project will create 300 new jobs, and generate revenue of close to Shs10 billion annually in foreign exchange inflows.
The special Presidential Advisor on AGOA, Ms Susan Muhwezi, applauded Tembo Steels for taking up the initiative and appealed to others to follow suit.
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