Komatsu makes good on $160m deal for equipment

May 5, 2017 in U by Editor

The Ministry has already placed an order for 401 units of construction equipment including wheel loaders and graders.

The deal involves allocating all the 115 districts in Uganda with equipment to boost self-sufficiency in road maintenance.

May 5–Komatsu, the Japanese mining and construction equipment maker, has began delivering to Uganda’s works ministry the first batch of motor graders, bulldozers and excavators in a $160 million deal first reported in February.

The Ministry has already begun allocating the equipment destined for 115 districts spread across the country. This is an effort to make districts more self-sufficient in road maintenance, but the rest of equipment will go the Uganda National Roads Authority, Kampala Capital City Authority and training centre in Mbale, eastern Uganda.

The deal between Uganda’s works ministry and Sumitomo Corporation was financed jointly by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). SMBC’s contribution is covered by the export credit insurance program of Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), the official export credit agency of Japan.

Most of the equipment comes with KOMTRAX (the Komatsu Machine Tracking System). The company says monitoring the location of machines and the hours and conditions of machine operation, Komatsu will work to improve operational efficiency, cut down maintenance costs, and promote energy-saving machine operation, thereby further supporting job-site operations.