President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has pledged government support to the establishment of the Nonda Coffee Park in Nakaseke District, a landmark agro-industrial project expected to transform Uganda’s coffee sector through large-scale value addition, job creation, and expanded export markets.
The commitment followed a meeting at State House, Entebbe with a delegation from Nonda Coffee Park led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tonny Miiro Kibuuka, who briefed the President on the progress of the project and sought additional government support ahead of its groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for October this year.
The proposed coffee park, located on a 100-acre site in Butalangu Town Council, Nakaseke District, is projected to become the largest single coffee processing facility in East and Central Africa. Once completed, the plant will have the capacity to process 42,000 metric tons of coffee annually, drawing raw coffee from Uganda’s central region and other coffee-growing areas.
According to Mr. Miiro, the project is part of the Great Uganda-Saudi Coffee Corridor under the Value-at-Source Coffee Project, Uganda’s flagship private-sector-led industrialization initiative aimed at ensuring that a greater share of the coffee value chain remains within the country before exports.
“The President has committed his support to this project, particularly in mobilizing coffee farming households to prepare for the increased demand for coffee that will be required by the factory,” Mr. Miiro said after the meeting.
He explained that unlike the traditional model where Uganda exports largely unprocessed coffee beans, the Value-at-Source initiative seeks to process coffee domestically, allowing the country to earn significantly more from its leading export commodity.
The coffee park represents an investment estimated at USD200 million, making it one of Uganda’s largest agro-processing projects.
Mr. Miiro said approximately USD160 million will be invested directly in the development of the coffee park and related infrastructure on the 100-acre site in Butalangu.
The Government of Uganda is expected to contribute USD44 million, while the remaining financing will come from private investors from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ready export market:
One of the project’s biggest advantages, according to Mr. Miiro, is that it already has an established export market. He revealed that the processed coffee from the facility is earmarked for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under an existing commercial arrangement.
“This project is already mapped to the off-take market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There is a ready market waiting for the coffee because we are the first Ugandan company to own coffee shops in the Middle East,” he said, adding that the company currently operates two Ugandan-branded coffee shops in Saudi Arabia.
The facility is projected to generate annual revenues exceeding USD800 million, significantly increasing Uganda’s foreign exchange earnings from coffee exports.
Construction has already commenced with preparatory works at the site, and the project is expected to be completed within the next 24 months.
Mr. Miiro said preparations are also underway for the official groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for October, this year.
“Our purpose in meeting the President was to thank him for the support he has committed to this project and also to inform him about the proposed groundbreaking ceremony later this year,” Mr. Miiro said.
The meeting was attended by several senior government officials, including the Attorney General, Hon. Sam Mayanja; Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Henry Musasizi; Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Eng. Jonard Asiimwe; the Coordinator of the Islamic Development Funds, Hajji Habib Migadde, and other stakeholders involved in the implementation of the project.
