Dar es Salaam. The Minister of State in the President’s Office (Planning and Investment), Prof Kitila Mkumbo, has commended the more than Sh700 billion investment by Kilombero Sugar Company Limited, describing it as a major driver of employment creation and industrial development in Tanzania.
Speaking during a working visit to Kilombero District, Prof Mkumbo toured the company’s sugar factory and said the investment has created numerous direct and indirect employment opportunities, particularly in engineering and technical professions.
“The industrial sector plays a strategic role in accelerating national economic growth and strengthening job creation, especially for skilled and professionally trained youth,” he said.
He noted that large-scale projects such as Kilombero Sugar not only increase the production of essential commodities like sugar but also stimulate growth in related sectors, including sugarcane farming, transportation and distribution services.
The minister urged other investors to emulate Kilombero Sugar Company by prioritising local employment, stressing that Tanzanians should directly benefit from projects implemented within the country.
“Such efforts will help reduce unemployment, increase household incomes and improve overall social welfare,” he said.
Prof Mkumbo also highlighted Tanzania’s progress towards sugar self-sufficiency. He said that through improvements in infrastructure, technology and production capacity, sugar output has increased significantly — from between 130,000 and 260,000 tonnes — helping to meet domestic demand, reduce reliance on imports and strengthen food and industrial raw material security.
During his visit to the newly expanded factory — described as the largest sugar plant in East, Central and Southern Africa — the minister praised the project as a tangible achievement in advancing Tanzania’s industrial agenda.
He said the expansion will nearly double annual production from 130,000 tonnes to 270,000 tonnes. The factory is expected to generate employment opportunities for about 900,000 people across its value chain, many of them young Tanzanians and university graduates.
Prof Mkumbo linked the project to the government’s Development Vision 2050 (Dira 2050), which aims to ensure that at least 50 per cent of Tanzania’s projected population of 118 million has access to decent jobs by 2050.
Kilombero District Commissioner Dunstan Kyobya said the commencement of production at Kilombero Four (K4) in June is expected to end the country’s long-standing sugar shortages.
Prof Mkumbo also visited Mkulazi Sugar Factory and Agro Tech Company, where he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to attracting both local and foreign direct investment in the sugar sector.
He noted that Tanzania’s annual sugar demand of approximately 700,000 tonnes presents significant opportunities for new investors, in line with Dira 2050’s objective of positioning Tanzania among the top ten African nations in food production.
“The private sector is expected to contribute 70 per cent of our projected $1 trillion GDP, driven largely by investments such as these,” he said, underscoring the critical role of industrial projects in job creation and national economic growth.
Kilombero Sugar Company currently operates three sugar-producing factories — K1, K2 and K4 — while K3 is dedicated to ethanol production. The company is 75 per cent owned by private investors and 25 per cent by the government.
The minister’s visit underscores the government’s proactive role in monitoring strategic projects to ensure investments deliver tangible benefits to citizens while maintaining a conducive environment for further productive investment.
The expansion of sugar production capacity is also seen as key to stabilising domestic supply, supporting agro-industrial development and reducing import bills, in line with Tanzania’s broader industrialisation strategy.
