Local cement producers will have to change their products to supply the new Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project in Uganda.

The SGR project is a mega railway transportation network that will be constructed by Chinese firm, China Harbour Engineering Company.

"The cement we have is not cement meant for the railway, we benchmarked from Kenya and found that Bamburi plant in Mombasa had changed its manufacturing configuration to meet these [SGR] standards," said SGR project coordinator, Kasingye Kyamugambi.

Talks between SGR and cement manufacturers in Uganda only managed to convert Hima Cement (LafargeHolcim group) to change configuration to produce one specific type for the project. Yet the project, according to Mr Kyamugambi, will need eight types of cement.

He said this has forced them to get directives, as a legal cover to forego the local content policy, especially for products that they cannot obtain from here (Uganda).

However, Moses Ojambo, the PPDA director capacity building and advisory services, asked government to empower local manufacturers to boost their capacity instead of resorting to imports. "Let government empower local companies so that they can meet required qualities and quantities," he said.