Tian Tang Group, a large-scale diversified Chinese enterprise operating in Uganda, was approved to build one of the country's 22 planned national industrial parks, Tangshan Mbale Industrial Park.

Authorization came from the Tangshan Commerce Bureau of Hebei province and Uganda's Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

The Ugandan government has listed the project as a key national project, making it a priority and applying preferential policies, says Wang Wentong, general manager and director of Tian Tang Group.

Tian Tang Group started its business in Tanzania in 2000 as a trading company. In 2002, it copied its core business in Uganda, as the company foresaw a sound political, economic and cultural environment for business in the country. With its trading experience in Tanzania, its business in Uganda expanded steadily and laid a solid foundation for future expansion, Wang says.

In 2008, the company decided to expand its business scope from trading to manufacturing. Soon the company bought 33 acres of wasteland in Mukono district, an industrial base of Uganda. It took the company a year to reclaim the land.

The company set up one factory in the park every six months after the start in 2009. In two years, four factories engaged in steel fabrication and mattress and plywood manufacturing were in place to form the first industrial park in the country, Wang says.

The park now has more than 1,000 employees, 95 percent of whom are local residents. The annual total output of the park reaches tens of millions of dollars, and it's seeing annual growth of 15 percent.

Now, after 15 years of exploration, Tian Tang Group has developed into a large-scale diversified Chinese enterprise. It has 12 wholly-owned subsidiaries in Uganda, with businesses ranging from hotel catering and tourism to manufacturing, real estate, machinery trading and security services.

As part of the national blueprint of Uganda, it plans to build 22 national industrial parks in the next five years to accelerate the process of industrialization, and make effective use of local resources. The country's goal is to rank among middle-income peers by 2020.

The plan makes it clear that the government will give priority to the development of agriculture, industry, tourism, energy infrastructure and information and communication industries.

Tangshan Mbale Industrial Park, to be constructed by Tian Tang Group is located in the Mbale area in eastern Uganda. Mbale is the third-largest city of Uganda. Covering an area of 2.51 square kilometers, the park is 220 kilometers from the capital and 65 kilometers from the border of Kenya.

It has convenient transportation which extends in all directions. High-voltage power lines are in place and the area is rich in water resources and labor.

With a population of more than a million, Mbale boasts well-developed agriculture. It is the largest trading center of agricultural products in Uganda, backed by the high yields of rice, coffee, cotton, fruits and vegetables and cereals. It also leads in textiles, coffee processing and wood processing.

The park is designed to focus on agro-processing, metal building materials, new energy, automobile components and assembling, household appliances, daily necessities, and glass and furniture - all of which are urgently needed by the country.

By introducing mature manufacturing technology and management expertise from China, Tian Tang Group plans to build a new type of industrial park that integrates processing, manufacturing, imports, exports, overseas warehousing, investment services and management and business consulting, according to Wang.

panzhongming@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/15/2017 page27)