President Yoweri Museveni has called for a larger East African market for Ugandan manufacturers, saying regional integration and removal of non-tariff barriers are critical to expanding industrial production and creating wealth. The President made the remarks on Tuesday while commissioning Roofings Group’s new $120 million Cold Rolling Mill Complex at the Kampala Industrial and Business Park in Namanve.
Museveni said the government would continue engaging leaders of the East African Community (EAC) to address barriers preventing Ugandan manufacturers from accessing markets across the region. He urged manufacturers to look beyond Uganda’s domestic market, emphasizing that creating a sizable market across borders was necessary to drive wealth creation.
The new facility has added 150,000 tonnes of annual cold-rolled steel production capacity, bringing Roofings’ total cold-rolled capacity to 300,000 tonnes a year, according to the company. Roofings Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Arif said the company’s overall production capacity had grown to 625,000 tonnes annually by the end of 2025, up from 382,000 tonnes. The company can now produce about 4.2 million iron sheets per month, or more than 50 million annually.
Arif said the new complex, equipped with technology supplied by Danieli, Siemens, and ABB, was designed to produce higher-value steel products for Ugandan and regional markets. “With this technological advancement, 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,” Arif said.
The investment is part of Roofings Group’s expansion in Uganda, where the company says it has invested more than $500 million over 32 years and directly employs 2,224 people. The company said the new production capacity would support Uganda’s industrialisation, value addition, and import substitution efforts while creating opportunities for increased exports.
Roofings Chairman and Managing Director Dr Sikander Lalani called on the government to pursue a regional natural gas infrastructure network linking Uganda, Tanzania, and other gas-producing countries to reduce industrial costs and improve competitiveness.
Lalani said Uganda’s oil and gas resources, Tanzania’s energy resources, Uganda’s iron ore and renewable energy potential, and Kenya’s markets and infrastructure could be combined to support regional industrial development. “I would ask Your Excellency to explore the development of a regional, even sub-Saharan, natural gas infrastructure network,” Lalani said, arguing that such infrastructure would make African industries more competitive while supporting cleaner manufacturing.
Lalani also said Roofings had established a dedicated entity to begin exploration work in Uganda as part of efforts to increase the share of its production chain located within the country. He urged the government to continue improving infrastructure and addressing challenges affecting manufacturers, including transport corridors, railway infrastructure, electricity supply, and product standards.
Museveni commended Lalani for advancing local value addition, which he said had reached 54%, describing the development as “a step in the right direction.” He also encouraged investors to deepen business partnerships with Japan, China, Europe, and other markets to expand investment and industrial production.
The new plant is expected to strengthen Roofings’ ability to supply the domestic market while increasing its capacity to export higher-value steel products to markets across East and Central Africa and beyond.
