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By Mulengera Reporters
State Minister for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives David Bahati has defended the Uganda Development Corporation’s (UDC) UGX96.15 billion investment in Abubaker Technical Services and General Supplies Ltd, saying the partnership is helping build a Ugandan construction company capable of delivering major national infrastructure projects.
Bahati made the remarks on Thursday during a tour of the 145-kilometre Busunju-Kiboga-Hoima Road, which Abubaker is rehabilitating under a contract worth approximately UGX309.07 billion.
The minister said UDC deliberately invested in the construction company because infrastructure development supports Uganda’s wider industrialization ambitions, particularly in the Albertine region, where oil production and related industries are expected to generate new economic opportunities.
“UDC has chosen a path of investing in areas that support our industrialization agenda, and one of them is the partnership between UDC and Abubaker,” Bahati said.
He noted that Uganda has traditionally relied heavily on foreign contractors to execute major infrastructure projects, arguing that strengthening domestic firms would allow Ugandans to participate more directly in the country’s economic transformation.
“We welcome the Chinese and Indian companies operating in the country, but we also welcome our own local companies involved in this sector,” he said.
UDC holds a 26.82 per cent stake in Abubaker and has provided cumulative financing of UGX96.15 billion through equity and shareholder loans.
Bahati said the investment was strategic because road construction supports several other economic activities, including manufacturing, oil production, trade and agricultural marketing.
He explained that the Busunju-Kiboga-Hoima corridor would improve connectivity between Kampala and Hoima City, opening up the Albertine region and supporting the movement of goods and people.
“This road leads to the Albertine region, which is going to produce our oil. It also connects to the industrial park, which, when oil production starts, will support the production of chemical products,” Bahati said.
He added that improved road infrastructure would make it easier for farmers and traders to transport agricultural produce to markets while supporting the movement of industrial inputs and finished products.
The minister said Abubaker’s expansion had also created employment, with the company employing hundreds of Ugandans across its operations.
“As you have been told, they are employing around 600 Ugandans, but they are also opening and connecting Kampala with the Albertine region,” he said.
Abubaker’s growing capacity has been supported by investment in machinery, quarry operations and asphalt production, enabling it to undertake larger construction assignments.
The company’s General Manager, Frank Kizito, told the delegation that the partnership with UDC had helped unlock opportunities that were previously difficult to pursue because of limited equipment and financing.
He said the company had expanded its machinery base and could now handle several major construction projects simultaneously, depending on their size and technical requirements.
Kizito added that the investment had strengthened the company’s credibility when dealing with banks and seeking performance guarantees required for large contracts.
Abubaker is also executing the Matugga-Semuto-Kapeeka Road project, together with five kilometers of town roads, under a contract valued at UGx216.12 billion. The two major road contracts have a combined value of UGX525.19 billion.
Bahati said UDC’s investment approach was aligned with the Fourth National Development Plan and the ruling National Resistance Movement’s development agenda.
He said the corporation’s mandate was not simply to provide money to businesses but to support enterprises whose growth could create jobs, strengthen local production and improve people’s livelihoods.
“Industrialization is about the investments we make, the jobs we create, the innovations we support and, at the end of the day, the lives we impact,” Bahati said.
The UDC Board Chairman, Godfrey Ruhulira, described the Abubaker partnership as an important test of the corporation’s strategy to build the capacity of local companies to compete in sectors dominated by foreign firms.
He said strengthening domestic enterprises was consistent with the Buy Uganda, Build Uganda (BUBU) initiative and the government’s broader economic transformation agenda.
Ruhulira said the success of such investments would ultimately be measured by their contribution to employment, skills development and household incomes.
He challenged Abubaker’s management to ensure the road project was completed according to the required standards and timelines, given its importance to the country.
“We are building Uganda by promoting local companies,” he said, adding that the corporation expected its investments to deliver measurable benefits to the economy.
The road project is among the investments UDC intends to showcase as it prepares to mark its 10th anniversary on November 20, 2026.
The corporation plans to use the celebrations and the inaugural Uganda Industrialization Conference to highlight its investments in strategic enterprises and their contribution to the country’s industrial development. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
