In Kawolo, Lugazi, Buikwe, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni officially opened Uganda’s first-ever railway concrete sleeper factory.
Museveni commended the owners of the factory, Imathia Construction, led by Chairman Mr. Julian Garcia Velverde, for assisting Uganda in realizing a portion of its goal of establishing an integrated, autonomous, and self-sustaining economy.
“If you recall, we counseled Ugandans and Africans in general to establish an integrated, independent, and self-sustaining economy in point number five of the NRM program that we wrote many years ago. When you hear about all these never-ending crises in Africa, part of the issue is that people haven’t understood it, according to President Museveni.
“I want to express my gratitude to the Spanish group Imathia for assisting us, in this case by carrying out a portion of this endeavor because Uganda needs a railway system, which requires a variety of materials like sleepers and rails. What does it signify if they are all not produced here, then? It implies that you must purchase things outside, and if you do, what will happen when the cost of transportation alone is too high? Added he.
The government is currently establishing Uganda’s own steel sector, which will enable the nation to start producing rails, which are also utilized in the construction of railway lines, according to President Museveni.
For the Standard Gauge Railway, we also need the actual rails. Because the rails require very high-quality steel, we might not complete it right away, but we will continue to work on it because Kabale is growing its steel industry. Not only in Uganda but also in other countries of East Africa, we will be able to produce the kind of steel that the railway system requires.
Mr. Julian Garcia Velverde, the chairman of Imathia Construction, thanked the President, the Ministry of Works and Transport, as well as the Board and Management of Uganda Railways Corporation, for their amazing hospitality and support since they decided to invest in Uganda.
“As you have observed throughout your tour of the Plant Sir, 90% of the workers at this railway concrete sleeper factory are locals. I have no doubt that one day we will be entirely operated by young Ugandan men and women because they have learned how to run this facility,” he said.
“Your Excellency, the investment we have here has the capacity to supply sleepers for all the railway restoration work that is being done. I wish to appeal to you and the Honourable Minister of Works to consider utilizing this new technology to Uganda and replacing the current steel sleepers with these concrete sleepers.”
The President was also told by Mr. Garcia that the SGR railway option, which is part of the nation’s transformation plan, is one of the options for meter gauge contemporary trains that uses concrete sleepers as the best technology.
“The concrete sleepers increase safety, increase comfort, increase speed as well as decrease the track’s maintenance cost and associated costs associated with vandalism.”
Assuring the President that Imathia is on pace to finish the project, Mr. Garcia further mentioned that Imathia was hired to renovate the Kampala-Mukono line.
“Your Excellency, the investment we have in place has the potential to provide the sleepers for the renovation of all railway lines in the nation. In our factory, we also use regional vendors”.
The factory whose workforce is over 90 percent made of Ugandans, has a daily production of 208 concrete sleepers of meter gauge sleepers for the Refurbishment Kampala-Namanve-Mukono.
