LUWERO, Uganda, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo on Thursday hailed the China-Uganda Agricultural Cooperation Industrial Park as a key driver of the country's agricultural transformation through agro-processing.
Alupo made the remarks while leading a delegation of senior government officials on an assessment tour of the industrial park in the central Ugandan district of Luwero.
"Today's visit is a concrete demonstration of Uganda's commitment to transforming our economy through targeted agro-industrialization," she said. "Our strategic goal is clear: to transform our agricultural sector from traditional subsistence practices to commercialized high-value modern agri-business."
Alupo commended the FAO-China-Uganda South-South Cooperation initiative, under which the Chinese private sector-led industrial park was established, saying that it has enabled Uganda to process agricultural products for export to the world.
She pledged that the Ugandan government would continue improving and supporting infrastructure and policy measures to facilitate the park's development and create a more enabling environment for agro-industrial investment.
The industrial park, marking its 10th anniversary this year, includes a pineapple canning factory, a chili processing plant that supplies dried chilies to China, and a poultry farm supplying eggs to domestic and regional markets.
Uganda stands to benefit further from China's continued high-standard opening-up and its zero-tariff policy for eligible exports, said Alupo. "We look forward to having more related exports by taking advantage of the 100 percent zero tariff policy."
Luo Heng, chairman of Kehong Uganda Industrial Development Limited, the Chinese company managing the industrial park, said the first phase of development, launched in 2016, has been completed, covering major projects including commercial layer farming, contract chili cultivation, pineapple processing, and the promotion of improved rice varieties.
Luo said the park plans to invest 500 million U.S. dollars over the next five years as part of its second phase of development. ■