Uganda’s minister of Science Technology and innovations, Elioda Tumwesigye said Uganda will have home-made solar powered buses plying the roads of Kampala and Entebbe before the end of 2019.
In 2014, the Ugandan Investment Authority authorised two companies – Kiira Motors Corporation of Makerere University College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology and China Engineering Limited – to start Car production in the country by 2018 but none has yet been produced.
Uganda has made considerable strides in automobile innovation and in the past, have engineered a car model that uses electricity and a hybrid car that uses both electricity and diesel.
They have effortlessly been able to create a Bus powered by solar energy but according to Tumwesigye, has not seen the road. The ministry of science technology and innovations have taken up Kiira Motors, this means Kiira Motors is now part of the ministry.
It has already dedicated to raising Shs143b in four years to aid the production of vehicles in the country and Shs24b is already secured for the process.
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‘’We have got government commitment to raise Shs143b in four years and in the first year which is this one, they have raised Shs24 b which Kiira Motors will have, to start up the process. We are going to start with buses because it helps in transporting so many people and then we shall go on double cabin Pickups,’’ he added,’’ the Minister said.
The Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni has ordered the ministry to use National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) together with UPDF engineering brigade to construct the assembly line because it is inexpensive.
In Kiira’s line of Cars, they possess a Kayyoola Solar Bus, Kiira EV Smack, and Kiira EV POC which has a battery bank capacity of 40AH and 207V. A 2-seater car, it is powered by a 26 Horse Power. The line of cars produced by Kiira may signal the dawn of a new evolution in the Ugandan Automotive Industry.
