By KT Reporter
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his Kenyan counterpart, Dr William Ruto, on Sunday presided over the groundbreaking of a UGX 2 trillion (USD 500 million) Devki Mega Steel Plant in Tororo District, a landmark they said signals a turning point for East Africa’s industrial future.
The plant, developed by the Devki Group of Companies, will sit on 680 acres in Yutro Village, Usukuru Sub-county, along the Tororo–Busia highway. Once operational, it is projected to become the largest steel facility in East and Central Africa and employ more than 41,000 people from Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda.
Devki Group Chairperson Dr Narendra Raval described the venture as an economic watershed. “We will use our steel infrastructure on our own soil to reduce dependence on steel from outside the continent,” he said. “Importing steel is importing poverty. We are exporting our jobs while paying levies to protect foreign industries. That must end.”
Citing the United States’ 150 percent import duty on steel under former President Donald Trump, Raval argued that protectionism is essential for job creation: “If governments don’t support local industry, they deny their citizens job opportunities.” Energy and Mineral Development Minister Dr Ruth Nankabirwa said the plant is a central pillar of Uganda’s industrialisation agenda under the National Development Plan IV, Vision 2040, and the 10-fold Growth Strategy.
She noted that Uganda’s iron ore reserves, estimated at 30 million tonnes in the 1960s, have risen to over 500 million tonnes, positioning the country to sustain a major steelworks. Nankabirwa announced that Devki has secured land in Tororo and exploration licences in Rubanda, Kisoro, Kabale, and Tororo districts. The plant will produce 600,000 tonnes of steel annually, including bars, wires, coils, plates, and angle bars.
President Ruto cast the project as a symbol of East African unity and shared prosperity. He described the Tororo steelworks as “not just a Ugandan facility; it is an East African facility,” noting that Kenya spends about USD 850 million each year importing steel—costs he said could be significantly cut by sourcing from Tororo. He praised Dr Raval’s commitment to regional industrialisation:
“Very few people can invest at the scale he does. It takes passion, foresight and the understanding that investment goes beyond profit, it goes to the heart of creating opportunities for millions of young people.” Ruto also announced infrastructure plans expected to complement the plant’s operations. These include extending the Standard Gauge Railway from Naivasha to Kampala, co-investing in the Kenya Pipeline Company (with Kenya divesting up to 65 percent), and extending the regional fuel pipeline through Eldoret, Kampala, and towards the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He also unveiled plans to dual the Nairobi–Malaba highway to strengthen regional trade corridors. Addressing claims that Uganda was pursuing “access to the sea by all means,” Ruto rejected political tension. “Uganda and Kenya are brothers,” he said. “There is no time for negative engagement. We are working together, not against each other.”
President Museveni positioned the Tororo plant within Africa’s broader struggle for economic independence. He argued that Africa has long been exploited—first through slavery, then colonialism, and now through raw-material exports and import dependence. “This steel plant is part of reversing that,” he said.
“We must stop exporting jobs. We must add value here.” Museveni warned against malpractice in land compensation, calling for transparency: “Industrial projects only make sense if communities benefit first.” He said the plant will help Uganda retain foreign exchange and create thousands of jobs, including up to 15,000 in Tororo and Mbarara early on.
Analysts see the project as part of a wider continental shift. Africa’s steel market reached 39.5 million tonnes in 2024 and is projected to hit 52 million tonnes by 2034. Sub-Saharan Africa holds between 20 and 25 billion tonnes of iron ore reserves, and plants like Tororo signal a move toward value addition, intra-African trade, and self-reliance.
In his closing remarks, Ruto said the project “sends a powerful message that East Africa has both the courage and the capacity to build globally competitive industries.” For both leaders, the Tororo steel plant represents a vision of shared prosperity, regional integration, and a self-driven industrial future for East Africa.
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