Global consulting engineering firm Smec has been asked by the Uganda Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to develop a master plan for a proposed oil and gas industrial park in Kabaale, western Uganda.
Owing to the discovery of oil in the region, and the need to maximise value from the resource, the country’s government has allocated about 3 000 ha of land for the project, making it one of the largest industrial parks in the world.
The industrial park is intended to form part of a new industrial city encompassing an oil and gas refinery; energy, petrochemicals and other strategic industries; an international airport; commercial and administrative areas; health and education facilities; residential neighbourhoods; public spaces; an oil and gas export hub; and green areas.
“The park will have utilities and advanced security built to the most up-to-date standards and practices,” Smec Uganda utility engineer Godfrey Hatejeka says.
About 5 000 jobs will be created during the construction of the refinery, while 650 jobs will be created when the refinery is in operation. When operating at full capacity, the park will provide over 30 000 direct jobs and about the same number of indirect jobs.