KAMPALA, UGANDA — Roofings Group has commissioned a US$125 million advanced steel manufacturing complex in Namanve, marking a major expansion of Uganda’s capacity to process steel locally and produce higher-value products for the regional market.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni inaugurated Phase IV Level 2 of the Ultra-Modern Danieli Cold Rolling Mill Complex at Roofings Rolling Mills in Kampala Industrial and Business Park, Namanve, on Tuesday.
The facility adds 150,000 metric tonnes of annual cold-rolled steel capacity, bringing Roofings Group’s total cold-rolled capacity to 300,000 tonnes and strengthening its position as one of the largest steel manufacturers in East and Central Africa.
Roofings Group Chairman and Managing Director Dr Sikander Lalani said the commissioning represented a major milestone for a company whose journey began nearly five decades ago with a modest galvanising operation in Rwanda.
“Today marks a significant milestone for Roofings Group, and for me personally,” Lalani said.
He said Roofings had grown from a modest sheet-forming operation in Lubowa 32 years ago into a regional steel manufacturer producing about 360,000 tonnes of steel products annually and serving markets across East and Central Africa.
“Thirty-two years ago, we began as a modest sheet-forming operation in Lubowa. Today, Roofings Group produces 360,000 tonnes of steel products annually, serving markets across East and Central Africa,” he said.
Lalani said the company’s investment philosophy was centred on keeping more value within Uganda rather than exporting opportunities through the importation of finished or semi-finished products.
“Our vision is to be an accelerator for a sustainable Africa,” he said. “It means capturing value here, at home, rather than exporting opportunity elsewhere.”
The new complex consists of four major production lines: a 4-Hi Cold Rolling Mill, Edge Trimming Line, Hot-Dip Galvanising Line and Colour Coating Line.
According to Roofings Group CEO Sheikh Arif Rashid, the new plant has an annual production capacity of 150,000 metric tonnes, bringing the company’s total cold-rolled capacity to 300,000 tonnes.
“This brings our total cold-rolled capacity to 300,000 tonnes, making us the leading steel plant in East and Central Africa,” Sheikh Arif said.
The 4-Hi Cold Rolling Mill uses advanced automation technology supplied by Danieli, Siemens and ABB, while the galvanising line uses hydrogen generated on site through electrolysis.
Sheikh Arif said the technological sophistication of the plant represented a first for Africa and would allow Roofings to manufacture steel products to international standards.
“With this technological advancement — a first for Africa — our ambition is clear: to produce world-class quality steel in Uganda, and to position our country as a centre of excellence for steel manufacturing,” he said.
He said the investment was also designed to strengthen Uganda’s ability to export higher-value steel products beyond East Africa.
The expansion fulfils a commitment Roofings made to President Museveni in 2023 to double its capacity following completion of the new complex. “I am pleased to report that we have honoured that commitment in full,” Sheikh Arif said.
He said Roofings Group’s overall production capacity had increased from 382,000 tonnes annually to 625,000 tonnes by the end of 2025.
The company now has the capacity to produce approximately 4.2 million iron sheets, or mabati, every month — more than 50 million sheets annually.
Sheikh Arif said this was enough to roof more than 1.6 million homes each year and represented the largest mabati production capacity in East Africa.
The company adds about 54 percent value to every hot-rolled coil processed, with the value of the local processing estimated at more than Shs400 billion.
President Museveni congratulated Dr Lalani and Roofings Group, saying the investment was an important step in Uganda’s industrialisation journey. He said Roofings had demonstrated how Uganda could move from importing intermediate steel products to manufacturing them locally.
He noted that the company initially imported intermediate products from Japan before adding value to them in Uganda, achieving about 54 percent local value addition.
“Uganda has abundant iron ore resources, including high-grade iron ore, and we must use these resources to build a competitive steel industry,” President Museveni said.
He said Uganda’s iron ore resources, including deposits with purity of about 65 percent, presented an opportunity to develop a stronger domestic steel industry.
President Museveni also commended Roofings for its growth, noting that the company had reached a turnover of about Shs1.2 trillion and exports of approximately US$70 million.
He said the company illustrated the value of international cooperation, with technology and equipment coming from countries including Italy and Japan, while Chinese companies participated in the construction of the plant.
Roofings Group Director, Mr Oliver Lalani said the company is thriving partly because of Uganda’s strong economic fundamentals and growing market.
He noted that the East African region, with its growing population and expanding economy, presents significant opportunities for the steel industry. “More work remains to improve the quality of steel available on the market, particularly as the region’s middle class expands, and demand for quality construction materials increases.”
Mr Oliver also thanked President Museveni for championing Uganda’s economic transformation and the country’s journey towards middle-income status.
He also commended the President for promoting East African integration, saying regional integration provides an important avenue for expanding markets and strengthening industrial production. He reaffirmed Roofings Group’s commitment to working with the government to transform Uganda’s steel industry.
Meanwhile, the new rolling mill is part of a wider modern industrial complex comprising a cold rolling mill, edge-trimming line, galvanising line and colour-coating line. The cold rolling mill is a four-high mill designed to undertake further processing of steel, enabling the company to produce higher-value products locally.
The new facility represents another step in Roofings Group’s efforts to increase local value addition, reduce dependence on imported intermediate products and strengthen Uganda’s manufacturing capacity.
The commissioning of the Namanve complex marks another stage in Roofings Group’s long industrial journey. But its larger significance lies beyond the factory gates: Uganda is trying to move from exporting raw materials and importing finished products to becoming a country that processes, manufactures and exports higher-value goods.