KAMPALA — Uganda's government has granted a 21-year mining license to Chinese-backed Sunbird Resources Limited for a major cement project in a mineral-rich region bordering Kenya, the energy and mineral development ministry said.
The license will allow the Ugandan company, which has partnered with a unit of West China Cement Limited, to mine limestone and produce about $700 million worth of clinker, a raw material for cement, annually.
The project will have the capacity to produce 6,000 tons of clinker a day and 1 million tons of cement annually, with the cement factory aiming to be the largest in Uganda, the ministry said in a statement.
President Yoweri Museveni's government is banking on sectors such as mining and energy to support economic growth and attract investment.
The East African country expects to start pumping crude oil commercially in 2025.