European Union Explores Partnership Opportunities at Kiira Motors
The European Union’s ambassador to Uganda, Jan Sadek, led a delegation of about 10 EU ambassadors on a visit to the Kiira Motors Plant in Jinja district yesterday 24th October 2024.
Yesterday, October 24, 2024, Jan Sadek, the ambassador of the European Union to Uganda, took a group of roughly ten EU ambassadors on a tour of the Kiira Motors Plant in Jinja region.
The delegation included Hugues Chantry, the ambassador of Belgium, Signe Winding Albjerg, the ambassador of Denmark, and Xavier Sticker, the ambassador of France, Frederieke Quispel, the ambassador of the Netherlands among others.
Kiira Motors Corporation is a state-owned company established with the aim of championing value addition to the nascent motor vehicle industry.
Valued at $89m, the core business of the corporation is to develop, make and sell sustainable mobility solutions.
The Kiira Vehicle Plant facility includes offices, an assembly shop, plant circulation roads, power and water distribution systems and a vehicle test facilities. The aim of the Kiira Vehicle Plant is to have an initial capacity of producing about 2,500 vehicles per annum.
During the visit, Sadek said the EU is interested in supporting sustainable transport solutions.
“We also understand Uganda’s high ambitions on renewable energy and producing its own electric vehicles. It’s a very impressive plant,” Sadek said.
He added that discussions had been initiated on potential collaborations between Kiira Motors and European producers, with promising options to explore.
Paul Isaac Musasizi, the CEO of Kiira Motors, said there are huge potential areas of collaborations that can help support the plant meet its set objectives.
“There is a lot to learn from the EU, who have been in this industry for more than a century. We see opportunities to partner on the investment side, playing a critical role in providing resources to help us scale and achieve the impact we envision across the continent,” Musasizi said.
“Some of the finest designs in the mobility space come from Europe. At the technology level, they have very mature tech, and we hope to partner in product and manufacturing technology,” he added.
