A United Arab Emirates-based investor has laid down his plan to turn Uganda’s waste into cheap electricity for the East African country.
The development came on the sidelines of the sustainability week summit in Abu Dhabi during a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni.
During the meeting, Mr. Khaled Al Huraimel, an investor based in Sharjah who expressed interest in the management of waste in Uganda.
Mr. Khaled, who is the group CEO and Vice Chairman Beeah Company, informed President Museveni of his 15 years’ experience in the field in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries, on a Public, Private Partnership basis.
“He further disclosed the potential of constructing a plant that will generate electricity to be sold at a reasonable price and will additionally create employment for the people of Uganda,” State House here noted in a statement released this week.
The President reportedly assured the investor of government support, “pointing out that electricity is the lifeline of the economy.”
“These are the Doctors I have been looking for to combat the disease of waste products in our country. I take electricity as the bone marrow. If you get a problem with the bone marrow, the whole body will be in trouble, you will get leukemia and it is very dangerous,” the President said.
However, the President urged the investor to “mind the cost of electricity to the consumer per unit, stressing that the cutoff point should be $8 cents and below, of which Mr. Khaled replied in the affirmative.”
The same meeting was attended by the Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Mr. Ramathan Goobi, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Vincent Bagiire, the Ambassador of Uganda to the United Arab Emirates, Zaake W. Kibedi and Aisa Ismail, the Deputy Head of Mission at the Uganda Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
Statistics in Kampala alone indicate that between 1,500 and 2,500 tons of waste are generated every day. However, only about 40–50% of this waste is collected and disposed of.
