By AFAYO SHADRACH BETHEL

A Tuesday night fire that gutted a Sino-Uganda factory in Mbale Industrial Park left property estimated to be up Uganda Shillings 90 billion destroyed.


The fire is thought to have broken out at around 8:00pm on Tuesday night and raged into Wednesday morning.


Mbale City Resident Commissioner John Rex Acila explained that the fire was so hard to put out because of its severity as it gutted the mattress factory and lack of manpower.

Acila added that efforts to put out the fire were further slowed by the fact that the water bowsers had to leave the scene and travel 10 kilometres to the State Lodge and Bank of Uganda regional offices to refill.

Sino-Uganda was just recovering from floods that submerged parts of the park and destroyed property worth billions in August.

Grace Foam factory, which is the most affected, is said to employ at least 500 youth at various capacities since its launch in 2019.