UTEXRWA to invest Rwf56b on expansion

Rwanda’s sole textile company - UTEXRWA is planning to invest US$100m (Approx Rwf56.2b) in its expansion plan that is expected to span over the next five years. According to the Managing Director of the company Raj-Rajendran Munyaneza, this amount will be invested in the production of mosquito nets, silk and banana fibre textiles.“Our current plan is to invest over US$80m (Approx. Rwf45.2b) in mosquito nets, US$5m (Approx. Rwf 2.8b) and US$ 5 (Approx. Rwf 2.8b) in banana fibre textile manufacturing,” said Munyaneza. Utexrwa plans to produce about four million mosquito nets for the local market by the end of this year and to also produce about 8 million mosquito nets in 2010. Munyaneza stressed that his company has already acquired the technology and that the machines have already been shipped and are expected in Rwanda in about three months. Detailing the production and market strategy for silk, Munyaneza pointed out that so far Rwanda is leading in the whole region in silk production and the quality of this silk is competitive on the global market. “Because of the quality of the silk Rwanda produces, we are targeting a big market in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada; we also intend to start our silk exportation towards the end of this year,” said Munyaneza. Utexrwa’s silk production process is said to be the first of its kind to be done under one roof. The silk processing unit incorporates, mulberry cultivation, silk worm rearing, cocoon production, silk reeling, re-reeling, twisting, yarn dyeing, warping, weaving, processing and also produces silk apparels and other products like neck ties and scarves. These products are sold under the brand name ‘Silk Hills’ According to Munyaneza, these silk products are typically 100 percent made in Rwanda and are manufactured from imported semi-automatic reeling, twisting machines, warping and weaving machines, for which the company has invested US $1 million (Approx. Rwf566m) so far. When asked details of Banana Fibres textile manufacturing, Munyaneza said that so far his company is in partnership with Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and Rwanda development Board (RDB) to ensure the production of the Banana fibres. In a separate development, officials from the Ministry of Trade Commerce and Industry together with a group of consultants from the Policy and Strategy Unit in the President’s Office are moving around the country assessing the progress and challenges faced by several industries. The team which had visited Utexrwa on Friday is expected to come up with an advisory policy document that would guide the government in improving the performance of industries. Ends

National

UTEXRWA to invest Rwf56b on expansion