Museveni, Ruto to break ground for $500m steel mill in Tororo
The steel mill will be developed by the Devki Group of Companies, an East African conglomerate involved in manufacturing and the production of construction materials such as steel, cement, clinker, cement bags and roofing sheets in both Kenya and Uganda.
President Yoweri Museveni and his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto. (File photo)
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President Yoweri Museveni and his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto are Sunday, November 23, 2025, expected to break ground for the construction of a $500 million (about sh1.8 trillion) steel rolling mill in Tororo district.
The steel mill will be developed by the Devki Group of Companies, an East African conglomerate involved in manufacturing and the production of construction materials such as steel, cement, clinker, cement bags and roofing sheets in both Kenya and Uganda.
In Uganda, the group owns National Cement (U) Limited, the producer of Simba Cement in Tororo district.
Once completed, expectedly in 2027, the steel rolling mill is projected to become the largest in East and Central Africa and to employ about 15,000 people.
According to Narendra Raval, the Devki Group chairman, this will make the conglomerate the biggest private sector employer in the region, with a total workforce of 43,000 people.
The ground-breaking comes as Uganda pursues mineral value addition as a key driver of its ten-fold economic growth strategy, under which it aims to grow the economy to $500 billion by 2040.
Uganda is estimated to hold more than 500 million tonnes of iron ore deposits, with over 200 million tonnes located in the Kigezi sub-region, specifically in the districts of Kabale, Kisoro and Rubanda. Additional deposits are found in Tororo district.
“In Kenya, we have less than ten years’ worth of deposits for production. Uganda has huge iron ore deposits and has banned its export to East Africa in raw form,” Raval said in a media interview that aired this week.
Irene Batebe, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, described the plant as being aligned with the government’s strategy of adding value to mineral resources.
“We committed in the fourth national development plan (NDP IV) that we shall reduce the amount of steel we are importing as a country by promoting local industry. This plant will enable us to achieve this target,” Batebe said on Sunday.
She added that the government has supported the investor by extending the necessary infrastructure, such as roads and electricity to the site, and that additional substations are being planned to ensure the long-term operation of the project.