The corporation has allocated land for projects at the Nakasongola Military Industrial Complex and in Gomba District, including 640 acres at Kisozi for meat and bean processing and up to 500 hectares at Katonga for an agricultural model farm involving an Egyptian partner.
The National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) is using hundreds of acres of public land to attract private and foreign investment into defence manufacturing, agriculture and other industrial ventures, with investors providing much of the capital, machinery and technology required to operate the businesses.
The corporation has allocated land for projects at the Nakasongola Military Industrial Complex and in Gomba District, including 640 acres at Kisozi for meat and bean processing and up to 500 hectares at Katonga for an agricultural model farm involving an Egyptian partner.
Defence Minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka disclosed the arrangements when NEC appeared before Parliament’s Defence and Internal Affairs Committee for the first time in its 37-year history to explain its joint ventures and commercial operations.
Kiwanuka said the partnership model enables NEC to leverage its land, infrastructure and access to the Ugandan market to attract investors with the financial resources and technical expertise needed to establish and operate industrial projects.
“Consequently, Joint Venture partners provide much of the capital required for factories, equipment, technology and operations, while NEC generally contributes land, infrastructure and other support,” Kiwanuka said.
The minister also revealed that NEC receives approximately Shs2 billion annually from the government, largely to cover salaries and operational expenses, limiting its capacity to finance major capital investments independently.
Established in 1989 under the NEC Act, the corporation serves as the commercial arm of the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs and the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF). Its mandate includes undertaking commercial and industrial activities intended to benefit the military and the wider public.
NEC currently operates nine joint ventures and one partnership covering classified defence projects and civilian enterprises.
The classified ventures involve military helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul; advanced military and non-military technologies; armoured vehicle manufacturing; and explosives production.
The non-classified ventures cover pharmaceutical production, automobile assembly, military garments and footwear, meat and bean processing, oil-waste management and agricultural production.
At the Nakasongola Military Industrial Complex, NEC has allocated approximately 30 acres to Pro-Heli, 20 acres to NEC Technologies and another 20 acres to NEC-Streit for defence-related industrial activities.
Under the agricultural partnership at Katonga in Gomba District, NEC has provided up to 500 hectares, while the Egyptian partner contributes financing, infrastructure, agricultural machinery and technical assistance.
Kiwanuka said the meat and bean processing projects at Kisozi similarly depend on NEC’s land contribution, with the partner providing the required technology, skills and financing.
The minister said the joint ventures had also enabled NEC to generate dividends and internally generated funds, which have been reinvested in other productive projects.
These investments include a $4 million oil-waste management project at Kyangwali, a $1.2 million production line at NEC Uzima, a $500,000 investment in NEC Security and a $500,000 high-precision workshop.
Other projects include a Shs900 million incinerator, Shs4.2 billion in research and development infrastructure, a $560,000 solar power plant with storage capacity and a $500,000 masks factory.
According to Kiwanuka, the partnerships have supported technology and skills transfer, employment creation, local procurement, tax payments, export promotion and import substitution.
However, the minister did not provide figures showing the overall profitability of the ventures, their total revenue or the financial returns the government receives from the public assets committed to them.
The absence of these figures leaves questions about the commercial performance of the partnerships and the value Uganda receives in return for contributing public land and infrastructure.
Kiwanuka said the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs would continue overseeing NEC to ensure its commercial activities remain aligned with its mandate and contribute to national development while supporting the operational and welfare needs of soldiers and veterans.
Standfirst: NEC is committing public land to joint ventures in defence manufacturing, agriculture and industry, relying on private and foreign partners for capital and technology, but questions remain about the returns to government.