PIC: Italian ambassador Domenico Fornara, president and CEO of Yaatra Africa, Rajakumari Jandhyake, President Yoweri Museveni, energy minister Irene Muloni and US ambassador Deborah Malac after signing the oil refinery agreement.
The deal is between the Government and AGRC, a consortium of companies. The signing was done at State House Entebbe yesterday.
The oil agreement will ensure development, design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of the oil refinery in Hoima district.
President Museveni has challenged Western companies to take interest in helping Africa explore its resources potential, saying the continent presented immense business opportunities.
“There is a lot of sleeping in Africa. You find people who should know, but instead don’t know,” said the President. “And also there has been sleeping in the West, they don’t care about what potential is in Africa.”
The President made the remarks on Tuesday at State House Entebbe as he witnessed the signing of the Project Framework Agreement between the government and the Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium (AGRC). The agreement will ensure development, design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of the oil refinery in Hoima District.
President Museveni said unlike China, which seems to understand Africa’s potential and has been active in doing business with Africa, Western companies have been reluctant in taking up projects and investing in the continent.
“Africa is going to be a huge power house in terms of business,” said the President, who noted that African leaders and the NRM government in particular have resolved some of the obstacles to doing business like fragmented markets and confiscation of private companies by past regimes.
While congratulating the parties to the agreement, President Museveni said the composition of the AGRC showed that Western companies were also waking up to realise Africa’s potential.
“Africa and the West share a lot of history together and there is a need for them to use these past linkages to further economic business,” said the President.
The AGRC comprises YAATRA Africa (Mauritius), Lionworks Group Limited (Mauritius), Nuovo Pignone International SRL (General Electric Company located in Boston, USA) and SAIPEM SPA (Italy).