Uganda Development Corporation and Pamoja Packaging are developing a new manufacturing facility in Mukono District to produce PET preforms, flexible packaging, folding cartons and paper bags for domestic industries, targeting a market heavily dependent on imports.
Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) and Pamoja Packaging and Industrial Solutions Limited (PPISL) have broken ground on a packaging manufacturing facility at Namanve Industrial Park in Mukono District, as part of efforts to expand domestic production and reduce reliance on imported packaging materials.
The groundbreaking ceremony, held on 5 November 2026, was officiated by Minister of State for Industry David Bahati, alongside Special Presidential Adviser on Trade and Industry Amelia Kyambadde.
UDC invested UGX 29 billion in Pamoja in 2024 through ordinary and preference shares, acquiring a 49% stake in the company. The investment supports the development of manufacturing capabilities across both polymer-based and fibre-based packaging.
The facility will produce PET preforms, flexible printed packaging, folded and glued cartons, paper shopping bags and industrial bags. Its intended customers include food and beverage producers, agro-processors, pharmaceutical manufacturers, healthcare businesses, cosmetics companies and retailers.
According to the project specifications, the PET preform production line is designed for an output of up to 38,800 units per hour, operating for 10 hours daily over 25 days each month.
Bahati said Uganda imports an estimated US$500 million worth of polymers and packaging materials annually, including approximately US$250 million in paper packaging.
“When you import goods worth US$500 million, it means you are exporting jobs and exporting wealth,” he said at the ceremony.
The investment is intended to address part of this import requirement by expanding local manufacturing capacity. Uganda imported approximately US$6.29 million in corrugated cartons and US$2.34 million in non-corrugated folding cartons in 2024, according to international trade figures cited in the project information.
Pamoja Packaging Board Chairman Moses Abindabizemu said the facility would help address packaging supply constraints facing Ugandan manufacturers. The project is expected to generate more than 1,000 jobs once operational.
The development supports Uganda’s industrialisation and domestic value-addition objectives, including the Buy Uganda Build Uganda initiative.
The groundbreaking also forms part of activities marking UDC’s tenth anniversary since its re-establishment in 2016, ahead of the Uganda Industrialisation Conference scheduled for 18–20 November 2026 at the Speke Resort Convention Centre in Munyonyo, Kampala.