UIA | Uganda Licensed $122 Million of Investment Plans in January

By Fred Ojambo | Uganda licensed investment projects worth $122 million last month, said Maggie Kigozi, the executive director of the Uganda Investment Authority.

The agency licensed 29 projects which are expected to create 2,590 jobs, Kigozi told reporters today in the capital, Kampala. The growth in investment was driven by interest in the agriculture, finance, real estate and manufacturing industries, she said.

Kenya was the biggest source of planned investments, with an estimated $55 million, followed by Mauritius with $14 million and South African companies which aim to invest $10.7 million, the agency said.

The government will probably license $3 billion worth of projects this year, $1 billion of which will made by foreign investors, on growth in the petroleum and mining industries, Kigozi said on Jan. 6. The East African nation approved $1.7 billion in project in 2010.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fred Ojambo in Kampala at fojambo@bloomberg.net