ROKO Construction Limited, also Roko Construction Limited, is one of the top five construction companies in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, according to ''Construction Review Online'', as of April 2021. Headquartered in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, Uganda's capital city, ROKO, as it is often referred to, is active in Uganda,

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

and

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

Overview

ROKO was established in 1969 by two engineers; the late ''Max Rohrer'' (1935–2005), a native of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and the late ''Rainer Gottlieb Koehler'' (1931–2013), a native of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. As of April 2021 the company employed over 850 full-time staff and over 1,180 temporary workers of diverse nationalities, including over 100 key staff, of whom about half are engineers.

Ownership

The business is privately owned by the families of the two original founders.

Subsidiaries and affiliates

As of April 2021, the company maintains the following affiliates and/or subsidiaries: 1. ROKO Rwanda Limited 2. ROKO South Sudan Limited 3. ROKO Congo Limited 4. ROKO Technical Services Limited

Governance

The Roko Construction board of directors has six members: 1. Jean Mann Koehler: Chairperson 2. Mark Koehler: Managing Director 3. Peter Mugarura: Director 4. Brigitte Koehler: Director

Projects

This is a partial listing of past and current construction projects, where ROKO Construction is or was the lead contractor: 1. Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo: Work began in 1967 and was concluded in 1975. ROKO, the lead contractor, went back and carried out major renovations in 2015. 2. Mapeera House, the headquarters of

Centenary Bank Centenary Bank, also Centenary Rural Development Bank Limited (CRDBL), is a commercial bank in Uganda licensed by the Bank of Uganda, the central bank and national banking regulator. History The bank was founded in 1983 as a credit trust, Cen ...

, on Kampala Road, in

, Uganda's capital city. Construction began in 2007 and was completed in 2012. 3. DFCU House, the headquarters of

DFCU Bank DFCU Bank, registered as the Development Finance Company of Uganda Bank Limited, is a commercial bank in Uganda. It is licensed by the Bank of Uganda (BoU), Uganda's central bank and national banking regulator. Overview As of December 2022, DF ...

. Constructed at 46 Kyaddondo Road, on Nakasero Hill, from 2011 until 2013. 4. JLOS House Project, a three-component government office development project in Uganda's capital city of Kampala, to house the offices of the ''Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS)''.

Recent developments

As of November 2020, the

government of Uganda The politics of Uganda occurs in an Authoritarianism, authoritarian context. Since assuming office in 1986 at the end of the Ugandan Bush War, Ugandan civil war, Yoweri Museveni has ruled Uganda as an Autocracy, autocrat. Political party, Politi ...

owed Roko Construction Limited a sum of USh46,997,280,913.08 (approximately US$13 million) at that time, being payment for completed or ongoing work, according to

Matia Kasaija Matia Kasaija (born 28 May 1944) is a Ugandan politician and diplomat who serves as the current Minister of Finance of Uganda, a position he has served in since March 2015. From 27 May 2011 until 28 February 2015, he served as the State Minis ...

, Uganda's Minister of Finance, as reported by the Red Pepper Newspaper. Roko was going through a temporary cash flow crunch at that time. In July 2022, Ugandan online media reported that the Ugandan government was negotiating with the owners of the company, to acquire 150,000 preferential shares in the business, in exchange for UGX202.13 billion (approx. US$54.12 million). This comes at a time when ROKO has an estimated business pipeline, in excess of UGX1,204 billion (approx. US$325 million) in Uganda's oil sector.

References

External links

Uganda's construction industry mourns Roko Construction Ltd's Founder
As of 13 November 2013. {{coord, 00, 22, 41, N, 32, 33, 31, E, display=title Construction and civil engineering companies of Uganda Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1969 Companies based in Kampala Kawempe Division 1969 establishments in Uganda