President Yoweri Museveni on Monday commissioned a state-of-the-art ethanol distillery at Kakira Sugar Factory in Jinja.
The $36 million facility established by the Madhvani family will produce 20 million litres of ethanol annually.
In his remarks, the President commended the Madhvani family for supporting Uganda's industrialization, arguing that in 1970 before Idi Amin expelled them from Uganda, their factory was producing 70,000 tonnes of sugar annually while today, the sugar factory employs 9,500 people and the entire Madhvani Group employs 80,000 people.
Museveni observed that when the Madhvani family returned after the overthrow of Amin and started from scratch, they have now nearly tripled production to 180,000 tonnes of sugar per year.
He commended the Madhvani group for producing industrial grade sugar used by pharmaceuticals in production of syrups, sugar-coating tablets and also in soft drinks, which he says has helped Uganda save forex that would have been spent importing this type of sugar.
“This ethanol and bio-oil component is a well timed initiative as the country prepares to start oil extraction. Government is considering introducing a bill in Parliament on blending ethanol and petrol” the president said.
He also called upon the out growers and the factory management to get together and harmonize their issues because they are all working for the betterment of Uganda`s economy.
