Roofings Uganda will in December 2012 unveil its USD 120 million plant setting the stage for a boost in the production of steel products in Uganda. The plant will be used to manufacture galvanized and coiled iron sheets and other heavy steel products.

Speaking to Daily Monitor in Namanve, Mr Oliver Lalani, the company’s executive director, said by December 2012, phase III of the plant, which occupies 29 acres will be complete and will have the ability to produce 40,000 tonnes of painted coils and 80,000 tonnes of galvanized sheets annually. He added that "We shall be able to produce for not only our own plant, but also other players. We manufacture about 40% of the industry's input."

Roofings, which controls over 50% of the steel merchandise in Uganda, sought part of the funding from several banks, in form of a syndicated loan to expand its hot and cold rolling mills in Namanve.

It hopes to boost its revenue to about USD 350 million per annum from both local sales and exports on completion of the upper stream in Namanve which is an expansion of the downstream plant in Lubowa. The extensive project will operate with at least 42 MWs of hydro power, which must be in constant supply.

However, Mr Lalani said there is concern as the plant will only depend on a single source of power, thus in case of power interruption, major losses may be registered. He added that "We do not have any power back up; we shall only depend on power from the national grid. Thus, in case of any power supply interruptions, we may lose about UGS 40 million in machinery damages and products."

Other challenge include limited steel metal scrap supply in Uganda, that can hardly sustain the steel rolling business. Mr Lalani said most scrap on the market is substandard and supplied in low amounts, hence they have been forced to import from DR Congo and South Sudan.

Source - Daily Monitor

(www.steelguru.com)