Sukulu phosphates and steel complex
The Sukulu hills complex in Tororo is Uganda's largest industrial minerals project, combining phosphate fertiliser production with steel and acid plants.
- Outputs
- Phosphate fertiliser, sulphuric acid, steel, cement inputs
- District
- Tororo
- Current status
- Producing
What we track
Fertiliser output against the volumes promised at commissioning, power and input subsidies, and air and water quality around the complex.
What the complex is
The Sukulu carbonatite in Tororo hosts phosphates, iron and rare-earth-bearing material, and has been developed as an integrated fertiliser, steel and power complex under a Chinese-invested venture with substantial state support.
It is the country's flagship industrial-minerals project and the main test of whether Uganda can convert a domestic deposit into a manufactured product rather than a shipped concentrate.
Community and land record
Land for the complex and its quarries was acquired from smallholders around Tororo, with compensation disputes running through the district for years. Dust, blasting and effluent into local watercourses are the recurring complaints from adjacent villages.
Employment at the complex is the strongest local argument in its favour, and the ratio of Ugandan to expatriate staff is one of the figures the Bulletin follows.
Compiled from public licence records, government statements and Bulletin reporting. A profile is not an endorsement. Corrections: newsroom@mineralbulletin.com