President Museveni Launches Lake Victoria Logistics to Reduce Fuel Transportation Costs in Uganda

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has launched Lake Victoria Logistics, a company dedicated to lowering fuel transportation costs in Uganda.

Founded in May 2015 as Mahathi Infra Uganda, the company aims to revolutionize petroleum logistics for Uganda and other landlocked countries such as Rwanda, Burundi, and the DRC that depend on Uganda for their oil supply. After laying the foundation stone in 2018, President Museveni officially inaugurated the facility today.

During the launch event at Bugiri-Bukasa, Kawuku-Entebbe Road, President Museveni praised Lake Victoria Logistics for their investment in Uganda. “I’m very happy about this move. Mahathi, you have helped us. I don’t know how much cheaper it is because you didn’t give us the figures, but I imagine it is much cheaper than it was. The most important thing is for you to come to the market of Uganda and once you enter our market, you are talking about the market of DR Congo, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi and so on. So, this is really a goldmine for investors,” he said.

President Museveni highlighted the economic progress achieved under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government. “People who don’t understand the NRM strategy always miss the point. By 1986, the money economy of Uganda had collapsed. Therefore, that time, the task was to revive the economy which had collapsed so when you hear people talking of traffic jam and so on, that means the economy has been revived; you cannot have the traffic jam if you people don’t have money to buy cars and fuel,” he explained.

He further emphasized the need to rationalize the now-revived economy, pointing out the irrationalities in the current transport system. “During that phase, we could not handle the other elements of rationalization, therefore our transport system at the moment is irrational. We have got so much traffic on the roads which is not economic but that’s not accidental; it is part of the strategy we adopted. The economy is now bigger but with those irrationalities,” he expounded. He noted that projects like Lake Victoria Logistics are crucial in addressing these issues by removing fuel transportation from the roads.

President Museveni also encouraged investors to develop capacity for other forms of cargo besides fuel. “I advise you to look for durable areas of investment because right now the recovery phase of Uganda’s economy is finished, everything is there, it is now the rationalization. You should also bring us other investors who can invest in other sectors,” he urged.

The Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Katumba Wamala, stated that the project would significantly reduce transportation costs and the price of fuel in Uganda and the region. “Your Excellency, my Ministry is responsible for regulating transport of all forms; on road, air and also on water. We have been involved in this project. Our country being land-linked, we have been relying on and continue to rely heavily on road transport for the transportation of our cargo including fuel and petroleum products. This road transport comes along with a number of costs such as high road maintenance costs, fuel adulteration, road accidents, among others,” he said. He added that the project would mitigate these costs, reduce traffic congestion, and improve road safety.

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa, thanked Mahathi Infra for training Ugandans and offering technical skills. She highlighted the project’s significance in Uganda’s energy sector, emphasizing the country’s commitment to diversifying fuel import routes and promoting economic growth.

Dr. Steve Mainda, the board Chairman of Mahathi Infra Uganda, pointed out the limitations and inefficiencies of road transport for fuel in Uganda. He emphasized that the launch of Lake Victoria Logistics would address these challenges. “The vision of this project is to establish a more efficient and sustainable solution to decongest the roads, ease border post traffic and reduce turn-round time and cost of moving fuel from Mombasa to this place. We have invested USD 100 million in this project,” he said. Dr. Mainda added that the company has two state-of-the-art tank ships, each with a capacity of 4.5 million liters, operational and capable of making 10 trips a month. Plans are underway to construct two more ships, increasing the monthly capacity to 180 million liters.

The facility includes 14 storage tanks with a collective capacity of 70,000,000 liters, making it the largest fuel storage capacity in Uganda and East Africa. Additionally, a 256-meter-long jetty has been constructed to facilitate efficient cargo handling.

Former board Chairman Capt. Mike Mukula thanked President Museveni for his support, noting the investment’s potential to reduce the cost of doing business in Uganda. “This investment will be a major catalyst in reducing the cost of doing business in the country because transport is one of the major cost pushers but Lake Victoria Logistics will tremendously reduce the cost of transport between Kisumu and Uganda,” he said, expressing gratitude for the President’s initiative and foresight in enabling UNOC to be a key partner in delivering fuel to the country.

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