President Museveni and his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, yesterday officially broke ground the construction of a $ 500 million Devki Mega Steel Plant in Kayoro village, Tororo, marking the start of one of East Africa’s most significant industrial projects.
The vertically integrated steel plant is being developed by Kenyan industrialist Dr Narendra Raval of the Devki Group. It is expected to employ 15,000 Ugandans in Tororo and Mbarara once operations commence.
Dr Raval said most of the jobs will come from the core steel operations and related activities supported by earlier investments in Tororo, Mbarara and the planned Kabale iron ore refinery.
Speaking at the event, President Museveni situated the project within the broader context of Africa’s historical struggle to build its own industrial capacity.
He said the continent has endured centuries of value loss through the slave trade, colonial extraction and modern practices that encourage the export of raw materials without value addition.
“Today, with the groundbreaking ceremony of the Devki Mega Steel project in Tororo, alongside President William Ruto of Kenya, we are in the process of liberating Africa,” Museveni said.
Museveni thanked Ruto for encouraging Dr Raval to invest in Uganda, saying Kenya recognises that Uganda is a natural source of raw materials and that regional collaboration is essential for shared prosperity.
He urged Devki to ensure full production of steel sheets and other intermediate products locally to keep value within Uganda.
Museveni warned that East Africa loses about $5 billion annually through imports that could be produced domestically. He criticised the heavy reliance on road transport for cargo, calling it “irrational”, and welcomed the planned expansion of the Standard Gauge Railway to Tororo, which he said would reduce transport costs for large industries such as Devki.
“What is happening here shows that the future is bright and the rest will come,” he said.
Ruto described the ceremony as more than the start of a factory, calling it a step towards a new phase in Africa’s industrial ambitions and regional value chain growth. He praised Museveni’s long-standing commitment to industrial development and the cooperation that made the Tororo project possible.
“We convene here not just to commission a factory but to usher in a new, audacious chapter in Africa’s industrialisation ambitions,” Ruto said.
He also announced that Kenya will in January launch the next phase of the Standard Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Naivasha and from Rironi to Malaba, with an eventual extension to Tororo to support large-scale manufacturing.
Dr Raval thanked President Museveni for guiding the project and insisting that it be built in Tororo to provide employment for local communities. He pledged that 90% of the factory’s workforce will come from Tororo and surrounding areas.
Raval said industrialisation is essential for Africa’s prosperity. “Importing steel is importing poverty,” he said. “We must produce here, create jobs here and empower the youth.”
He also praised Ruto for stabilising Kenya’s economy and reducing inflation, saying the reforms have created a better environment for regional investors.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga, said the steel project marks an important milestone in regional industrial integration.
