The construction of a 1.2 billion-Shillings Buhara Sub-county headquarters has been launched in Ndorwa East County, Kabale District.The project is being fully funded and implemented by SINO Minerals Investments Company Limited, a company licensed to mine iron ore.
The development follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Kabale District Local Government and SINO Minerals in October 2025, under which the district allocated 15.5 acres of land in Kijoojo Village, the current site of the old sub-county headquarters.
Kabale District Engineer Januario Bagamuhunda says the project includes the construction of a standard sub-county administration block comprising a council hall, four office rooms, toilets, and four staff houses.
He said the new headquarters will be constructed in the same village, about one kilometre from the current offices. Brian Munanura, the Deputy General Manager for Operations at SINO Minerals Investments Company Limited, says construction is expected to be completed and handed over by October 9, 2026. Munanura says the company agreed to construct the new headquarters to provide better working conditions and accommodation for sub-county staff.
He adds that the district’s decision to allocate additional land has also enabled the company to expand its operations, noting that the existing iron ore crushing plant already employs hundreds of local residents.Munanura says that once the company expands onto the new site, monthly iron ore production is expected to increase from the current 20,000–30,000 tonnes to 50,000–60,000 tonnes.
However, he notes that frequent power outages continue to affect production.Buhara Sub-county LCIII Chairperson Francis Niwaha welcomes the project, saying it will replace the existing headquarters, whose structures were built during the colonial era in the 1940s and are now dilapidated. He appeals to SINO Minerals to also construct structures to host police post so that security services can relocate alongside the new sub-county headquarters.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony on friday afternoon, Kabale District LCV Chairperson Denis Nzeirwe Ndyomugyenyi commended the company for supporting local development and urged its management to allocate additional funds for furnishing the new offices upon completion. He noted that most of the furniture at the current headquarters is old and in poor condition.
Kabale Resident District Commissioner Retired Major Godfrey Katamba cautioned residents and other stakeholders against frustrating investors, saying the government’s priority is to attract more investment to promote industrialisation, create employment opportunities, and accelerate local economic development. URN