Museveni Urges EAC Market Expansion as Roofings Unveils $120m Steel Plant

What the report says

President Yoweri Museveni used the commissioning of Roofings Group’s new $120 million cold rolling mill complex in Namanve to renew his call for East African countries to remove trade barriers and widen regional markets for Ugandan manufacturers. According to Nile Post, he said non-tariff barriers were limiting industrial growth and that Uganda would keep engaging East African Community leaders to improve market access across the region.

The event took place on Tuesday at the Kampala Industrial and Business Park, where Roofings unveiled a facility that the company said adds 150,000 tonnes of annual cold-rolled steel capacity, lifting its total to 300,000 tonnes a year. Roofings Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Arif said the company’s overall production capacity had risen to 625,000 tonnes annually by the end of 2025, and that the plant can produce about 4.2 million iron sheets a month. He said the new complex is meant to support higher-value steel production for Uganda and nearby markets.

The company said the investment builds on more than 32 years in Uganda, where it claims to have invested over $500 million and employs 2,224 people directly. Roofings Chairman Dr Sikander Lalani urged government to improve infrastructure, power supply, transport corridors and standards, and to consider regional energy links to lower industrial costs. Museveni praised local value addition and framed the project as part of Uganda’s broader industrialisation and wealth-creation agenda.

In general, the remarks reflect a wider policy push across East Africa to deepen trade integration and expand manufacturing, but the specific claims in this report center on Roofings’ new plant and the president’s call for a larger regional market.