Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group of China is developing a phosphate project in Uganda wherein the Chinese company is planning to build a fertilizer processing plant for about $620 million.
Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group pins high hopes on the Sukulu site to produce some 300,000 metric tons of phosphate fertilizer and 200,000 tons of sulphuric acid a year. Sales are expected to go to the East African Community, which also includes Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
This project is expected to improve agriculture output in Uganda wherein farmers depend on imported fertilizers that are often more expensive for small-scale growers compared to other countries because of the high cost of transportation. Yields for corn, a staple food and export product, are low partly due to poor soil conditions.
The Sukulu site holds an estimated 230 million tons of phosphate and the country also has deposits of minerals including copper, cobalt, gold, iron ore, tin and titanium.
Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group is a registered company in Uganda as Uganda Hui Neng Mining Ltd under the mining act. It has pledged to build a 5MW power plant in the African country and offered scholarships to Ugandan students to train in China in the fields of mining, agriculture, oil & and gas production, management and engineering.
