Uganda grants mining licence for Chinese-backed cement project

West China Cement

23/02/2024 13:01

KAMPALA, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Uganda's government has
granted a 21-year mining licence to Chinese-backed Sunbird
Resources Limited for a major cement project in a mineral-rich
region bordering Kenya, the energy and mineral development
ministry said.
    The licence will allow the Ugandan company, which has
partnered with a unit of West China Cement Limited  2233.HK , to
mine limestone and produce about $700 million worth of clinker,
a raw material for cement, annually.
    The project will have the capacity to produce 6,000 tons of
clinker a day and 1 million tons of cement annually, with the
cement factory aiming to be the largest in Uganda, the ministry
said in a statement.
    President Yoweri Museveni's government is banking on sectors
such as mining and energy to support economic growth and attract
investment. 
    The East African country expects to start pumping crude oil
commercially in 2025.
    
    

 (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; editing by Alexander Winning
and Jason Neely)
 ((Email:elias.biryabarema@thomsonreuters.com; Tel. +254 20 499
1232; Reuters Messaging:
elias.biryabarema.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))