The president of the Republic of Uganda, H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Thursday 18th July launched Lake Victoria Logistics which is incorporated as Mahathi Infra Uganda Limited located in Bugiri – Bukasa village, Katabi town council, Wakiso district aiming at reducing the cost of transporting oil in Uganda as well as boosting the country’s fuel security.
The official event started with a ribbon cutting ceremony and unveiling of the plaque by the president as well as a guided facility tour of the new facilities and launch of MT Elgon ship which is second in addition to MT Kabaka Mutebi II that has been operational since 2021.
During the facility launch, President Museveni expressed gratitude to Lake Victoria Logistics/Mahathi Infra Uganda for investing in Uganda.
“I’m very happy about this move. Mahathi you have helped us. I don’t know how much cheaper it is because you didn’t give us the figures, but I imagine that it is much cheaper than it was. The most important thing is for you to come to the market of Uganda and once you enter our market, you are talking about the markets of DR Congo, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, and so on. So, this is really a goldmine for investors,” he said.
In addition, he noted that the economy of Uganda has been able to grow progressively due to the right strategy of his government that favours investments.
“People who don’t understand the NRM strategy always miss the point. By 1986, the money economy of Uganda had collapsed, therefore that time, the task was to revive the economy which had collapsed so when you hear people talking of traffic jams and so on, that means the economy has been revived; you cannot have the traffic jam if you people don’t have money to buy cars and fuel,” Museveni highlighted.
He therefore encouraged the investors to develop capacity for other forms of cargo other than fuel. “I advise you to look for durable areas of investment because right now the recovery phase of Uganda’s economy is finished, everything is there, it is now the rationalization. You should also bring us other investors who can invest in other sectors.”
Works and Transport Minister, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala noted that Uganda being a landlocked country, relies heavily on road transport for the transportation of its fuel/petroleum products, which comes along with several costs such as high road maintenance costs, fuel adulteration, traffic congestion, road accidents, and related non-tariff barriers that cause delays and increased costs of transportation.
“It’s a deliberate government policy to reduce the number of trucks ferrying petroleum products on our roads from Kenya (Kisumu/Eldoret) to Uganda. The emphasis is to have these products transported by either railway or water transport to reduce the high road maintenance costs, traffic congestion on our roads and the frequent associated road accidents,” he said.
Gen Katumba Wamala also remarked that in the regard that the government of Uganda continues to encourage the private sector to invest in water transport following the divestiture and liberalization policies. The government shall retain the role of regulating transport services and setting standards to ensure safety and efficiency in the sub-sector.
“I am confident that this facility will provide an avenue for excellent collaboration between Mahathi and the business sector to help reduce the cost of fuel in Uganda. Therefore I encourage all the oil marketing companies operating in this region to give their support to this facility so that we can all succeed,” he concluded.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa appreciated Mahathi Infra Uganda Limited (MIUL) for training and offering technical skills to Ugandans working on the project.
“This project is a significant milestone in Uganda’s energy sector and it’s a testament to the country’s commitment to diverse fuel import routes and promoting economic growth,” she said.
The Chairman Emeritus of MIUL, Dr. Steve Mainda remarked that transportation of fuel in Uganda has been limited to road transport which has worked for many years but with challenges and inefficiencies.
He however said that with the coming of Lake Victoria Logistics company, such inefficiencies will be no more. “The vision of this project is to establish a more efficient and sustainable solution to decongest the roads, ease border post traffic, and reduce turn-round time and cost of moving fuel from Mombasa to this place. We have invested USD100 million in this project.”
Mainda added that the company already has two state-of-the-art tank ships, made in Uganda, each with a capacity of 4.5 million liters.
“They are both operational, and each ship can make 10 trips a month. We now have the capacity to transport 90 million litres every month. We plan to construct two more ships to bring the monthly capacity to 180 million litres,” he noted.
He also highlighted that the facility has an entirely new logistics ecosystem for the region’s fuel by setting up 14 storage tanks with a collective storage capacity of 70,000,000 litres which is the largest fuel storage capacity in Uganda and East Africa at large.
The chairperson of Mahathi Infra Uganda Limited (MIUL) Captain Mike Mukula appreciated the president for the peace and sustainability that has enabled them to run this project as well as other investments that are yet to come.
He also lauds the partners that have supported the project since day one including the government of Kenya, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Works, and Equity Bank which gave them the first 70 million dollars, among others.
Lake Victoria Logistics was founded in May 2015 as Mahathi Infra Uganda with a vision to change the petroleum logistics for Uganda and other landlocked countries like Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo that get their oil through Uganda. In 2018, the President laid a foundation stone and today he officially launched the facility.
Extensive feasibility studies undertaken revealed that Lake Victoria Logistics is the most suitable mode of transporting petroleum products to landlocked countries like Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, DRC, and Burundi in terms of cost and convenience.
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