The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa, yesterday visited the Africa Coffee Park in Rwashamaire, Ntungamo district, to assess ongoing developments ahead of the forthcoming visit by H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
The visit highlights Parliament’s continued commitment to supporting strategic value-addition initiatives that position coffee as a key driver of Uganda’s value addition agenda.
The Deputy Speaker was received and conducted on the project tour of the Park by the Chief Executive Officer of Inspire Africa Group (IAG), Dr. Nelson Tugume.
The tour covered the Park’s processing chain, including the Wet Mill, Dry Mill, Spray Dry, Freeze Dry, and the Cosmetics production section.
Dr. Tugume demonstrated how the Park is integrating advanced freeze-dry technology — operating at -95°C, to produce high-quality soluble (instant) coffee.
During the briefing, Dr. Tugume highlighted progress on major infrastructure projects underway at the Park, including the Coffee Academy, Fertilizer Plant and an Airstrip that will support coffee tourism, and the movement of high-value exports.
He reaffirmed that the 150-acre Africa Coffee Park is poised to become Eastern Africa’s largest coffee processing and value-addition hub, with facilities such as a Convention Centre, Exhibition Centre, and an IT Park.
However, the CEO also expressed concern over delay in connecting a direct power line from Mirama Hills and national water supply, both of which have slowed the full operationalisation of soluble coffee production.
He appealed for accelerated action to unlock the Park’s production of Uganda’s first freeze-dried instant coffee.
The Deputy Speaker committed to engaging the responsible ministries to ensure timely resolution of the power and water challenges, emphasizing the importance of removing bottlenecks that hinder national industrialisation priorities.
The Park reinforces Uganda’s coffee value-addition strategy under the 4th National Development Plan (NDPIV 2025/26–2029/30), which identifies coffee as one of the country’s six priority agricultural value chains.
