President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Tuesday inaugurated the state-of-the-art Phase IV Ultra Modern Cold Rolling Mill Complex at Roofings Group’s factory in the Kampala Industrial and Business Park, Namanve.
The $125 million facility, equipped with Level 2 automation technology supplied by Italian firm Danieli, is reported as the first of its kind in Africa. It boasts an annual production capacity of 300,000 metric tonnes and features advanced machinery for cold rolling, galvanising and colour coating.
The plant will manufacture high quality steel products including pickled coils, cold rolled coils, aluminium zinc coated coils and colour coated coils designed to last for decades (up to 30 years). The products are destined for both the Ugandan market and the wider African continent.
According to officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, the new complex will significantly reduce Uganda’s reliance on imported steel coils by producing them locally. Roofings Group currently has the capacity to produce 4.2 million iron sheets every month, over 50 million sheets annually.
The inauguration was attended by Cabinet ministers as well as other government officials and industry stakeholders. Roofings Group said the investment is the largest expansion in its more than 30 year history.
The facility is expected to deliver substantial economic benefits through import substitution, higher value addition and expanded exports. Earlier assessments indicate the cold rolling mill complex achieves about 54 percent value addition on hot rolled coils within Uganda and supplies critical inputs to over 100 steel manufacturers across East Africa.
Roofings Group has grown into a more than $500 million investment with a total steel production capacity exceeding 600,000 tonnes. In 2025 alone, the group added over Shs 400 billion in value to raw materials, contributed more than Shs 191 billion in tax revenues and accounted for over 0.5 percent of Uganda’s total export earnings.
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