Mbarara district and the surrounding areas are yet to receive another boost in their rapid transformation drive following the commencement of construction of a US$80 (Approx. Ushs 200 billion) beer plant by Nile breweries at Ruharo, along river Mwizi, in Mbarara district.

Nick Jenkinson, the Nile Breweries’ Managing Director told journalists during the ground breaking ceremony for the plant that the brewery will create 26,000 jobs in addition to providing a vast market to sorghum and barley farmers in the region as well as creating opportunities for other fringe service providers.

Jenkinson noted that the plant, expected to be finished mid next year, will produce a maximum of 180 million liters, matching the Jinja plant’s capacity.

“Because of the increasing demand, the new brewery will have an initial capacity to produce When completed and combined with the Jinja brewery, a total of 360 million litres of beer will be produced annually,” Jenkinson said.

Jenkinson said the decision to locate the new plant in Mbarara came due to the fact that it is the fastest growing bear market in the country.

In addition, Jenkinson noted Uganda’s rapid population growth has made it necessary to establish a new plant to support the 56 year old plant in Jinja so that the company is able to keep pace with the rapid 28% growth in beer demand per annum.

In recent years, the company has introduced a number of products like Eagle larger that use local ingredients like sorghum for beer production. As a result of sorghum growing encouraged by Nile Breweries, over 9000 farmers are able to supply 8,000 tones of the beverage from which they earn over Ushs 7.6b annually.

Due to its good road network, Mbarara district has started attracting investors and it is at this point that the acting Executive Director of Uganda Investment Authority Tom Buringuriza appealed to the government to improve all the roads in rural areas as a way of attracting more investors since Kampala is now congested.

The establishment of a beer plant is yet another big step for the district and the region at large following several successful projects like the establishment of a soda factory in Jinja town by century bottling company – the makers of coca cola. blog comments powered by Disqus

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