The Namanve Industrial Park is now the largest in Africa and the hope of all Investors and people of Uganda was that it would become a World Class Facility.
Unfortunately, reality check tells us that this dream must be thrown out of the window as so many issues, primarily due to its design, produced by the alleged corrupt and now retired Hamza Galiwango.
He literally allegedly had zero experience in an Industrial Park but was given the task to design this spectacular park, but instead saw it and others merely as a money-making opportunity.
There are only 3 estates and you guessed it was, none of them are connected but no services. Every activity in each estate was designed only to maximize the income of certain individuals, as the proof is in the pudding, can be seen today, with massive problems, one after another.
Right now, we have the largest Industrial park with zero infrastructure developments and more important no road network to interconnect all the investors and other areas etc. in a systematic and intelligent manner. This should have been the first step, if UIA had hired a designer with experience, knowledge and common sense.
Only a madman would design the largest Industrial Park in Africa with zero services, zero drainage and zero road inter-connectivity even to the area where the Jinja Expressway is expected. As a result, the roads are always a total mess, traffic jams, accidents etc.
But sadly, once the Jinja Expressway is built, the volume of traffic into the park will be so huge, the whole place will merely collapse. Then add to this the traffic from the S.G.R. Hamza, who had never seen trucks carrying 40ft containers, ended up designing roads so small, that trucks experience difficulties even turning corners. His only gift or contribution was making money and unfortunately the DG, even today will call him for advice. This is just too much unprofessionalism.
An example can highlight this madness in the Industrial Park is the Negligence, Unpatriotic, unprofessional behavior of key players and their selfish behavior with zero regard for the Nation. Four years ago, Lagan Dott purchased land near Jinja expressway in the park, where there was a great deal of high quality murram. This was subsequently dug up in huge quantities and sold to the Industrial Park at 3 times market value.
Many SINO Dump trucks were acquired and a road built right in the HEART of the park which could directly access every section of the entire park with connectivity.
Every day 100 Murram trucks ferried the murram all over the park and in the process completely destroying all the roads destroying in the park including the tarmac roads from Roofings as each truck carried the maximum of 50 tons of murram.
For 4 years an absolute fortune was made, very selfishly, without any concern to the roads, nor the infrastructure, but in the process this road became the main artery to the heart of the park. In the process huge amount of Dust was created and many Industries suffered, terribly.
So much murram was removed, that in November 2025 it actually ran out and according to the L/C Chairman, Lagan, UIA and NEMA, allegedly wanted 150M as a bribe to keep the road open, but when refused, Lagan started removing the murram and selling it to the waste disposal project. So, they are now making profits 2 times, and Network in the heart of the park is being destroyed.
Excuses given was that this area would revert back to NEMA after years and yet with just a few culverts, this very road could or should have been maintained as a very strategic road.
We asked Lagan and URA, through L/C chairman of Kolo, if there was a detailed, Intelligent comprehensive Road Plan for the long-term success of the largest Industrial Park, having all the industries already on the ground in the park.
This plan should fall into the Jinja Expressway and the Intelligent manner it would interconnect the park and strategic flow of Huge Volumes of traffic. The answer was No. The Government and President should be concerned about the need for a sustainable long term development plan as foreign Investors will insist on such a basic plan.
Namanve Industrial Park is the Flagship Industrial Park and engine Uganda’s economic growth and it’s the responsibility of all stakeholders, to put a National Interest over monetary benefits.
