Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Ugandan Secure Printworks

The official groundbreaking ceremony for a new security document printworks took place in Entebbe, Uganda earlier in May. With the start of production planned for end of 2023, the country is set to become one of the few in Africa with such a state-of-the-art factory. Its cost is in the region of 107 billion shillings (US$24 million).

About 150 guests participated in the ceremony, including the Minister for the Presidency, Babirye Milly Babalanda, and key members of the Board of Directors of the Uganda Security Printing Company (USPC). USPC was set up in 2018 as a joint venture between the state-owned Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (UPPC), which owns 51%, and Veridos, a German provider of integrated identity solutions, which owns 49%.

The cake cutting ceremony came after Winstone Katushabe, the Commissioner for Transport Regulation and Safety in the Ministry of Works and Transport, said that once the Uganda Security Printing Company (USPC) factory in Entebbe is complete, all security documents will be locally produced (see IDN April 2022).

He added that in the first eight months, they expect to have completed two production lines, one for plastic security documents such as driving licenses and national identity cards, and another for paper documents such as passports.

Future opportunities include land titles, vaccination and health certificates, and academic credentials and, longer term, the printworks could also be used to produce currency, subject to a feasibility study on its viability.

The objective of the venture is to enable the Ugandan government to provide its citizens with the requested printed security products in an independent manner and strengthen the local economy. In total, the printing facility will provide local residents with more than 100 additional highly qualified jobs. Domestic production will also reduce the outflow of foreign exchange reserves.

‘We are pleased that Uganda will be one of the few African countries with such a state- of-the-art factory,’ stated Tobias Nuessle, COO of Veridos. ‘As a shareholder, we are delighted to provide a best-practice example of a public-private partnership where both shareholders share the same aims and work together in a trusting and equal way. The know-how transfer and local production scale clearly demonstrate the potential for further European and African cooperations.’