KAMPALA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Ugandan military has signed an agreement with state owned Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) to construct a car assembly plant in the eastern part of the country.
KMC in a tweet on Thursday said the business arm of the military, National Enterprise Corporation (NEC), signed the memorandum of understanding that will see the military construct Kiira Vehicle Plant start-up facilities at the Jinja Industrial and Business Park.
The agreement was signed by KMC's chief executive Paul Isaac Musasizi and NEC's Maj. Gen. James Mugira.
The military already assembles infantry fighting vehicles in Jinja.
The agreement comes days after the road testing of the Kiira EV, the company's latest hybrid sedan vehicle.
Uganda last year resolved to start the commercial production of motor vehicles after the process had stalled for years.
Cabinet in April 2018 directed the ministry of finance to set aside over 5.6 million U.S. dollars this financial year to kick start the construction of an assembly plant.
The idea of Uganda manufacturing cars started in 2011 when students at the country's Makerere University built the Kiira EV (electronic vehicle) and Africa's first solar-powered bus in 2016.
According to the Ugandan government, the car assembly project would stimulate investment in the production of among others car components, creating over 2,000 direct jobs and 12,000 indirect jobs.
