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ROKO Construction Company
Company type	Private
Industry	Construction
Founded	1969; 55 years ago
Key people	Jean Mann Koehler; Chairperson; Mark Koehler; Managing Director/CEO
Services	Commercial construction
Number of employees	857 (Full Time); 1,181 (Temporary); Total: 2,038 (2021)
Website	Homepage

ROKO Construction Limited, also Roko Construction Limited, is one of the top five construction companies in Uganda, according to Construction Review Online, as of April 2021. Headquartered in Kampala, Uganda's capital city, ROKO, as it is often referred to, is active in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, DR Congo and South Sudan.^[1]^[2]

Overview

ROKO was established in 1969 by two engineers; the late Max Rohrer (1935–2005), a native of Germany and the late Rainer Gottlieb Koehler (1931–2013), a native of 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.^[3]

Ownership

The business is privately owned by the families of the two original founders.^[4]

Subsidiaries and affiliates

As of April 2021, the company maintains the following affiliates and/or subsidiaries:^[3]

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:^[5]

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.^[6]

2. Mapeera House, the headquarters of Centenary Bank, on Kampala Road, in Kampala, Uganda's capital city. Construction began in 2007 and was completed in 2012.^[1]

3. DFCU House, the headquarters of DFCU Bank. Constructed at 46 Kyaddondo Road, on Nakasero Hill, from 2011 until 2013.^[7]

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).^[8]

Recent developments

As of November 2020, the government of Uganda 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, Uganda's Minister of Finance, as reported by the Red Pepper Newspaper. Roko was going through a temporary cash flow crunch at that time.^[9]

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.^[10]^[11]^[12]

References

^ ^a ^b Anita Anyango (4 April 2021). "Top construction companies in Uganda". Nairobi: Construction Review Online. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
^ Construction and Civil Engineering News (20 June 2020). "List of best registered construction companies in Uganda". Nairobi, Kenya: Construction and Civil Engineering News. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
^ ^a ^b Roko Construction Limited (18 April 2021). "Roko Construction: About Us: Our Profile". Kampala: Roko Construction Limited. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
^ Emily Jarvis (2014). "Profile of Roko Construction Company". Nairobi, Kenya: Africa Outlook Magazine. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
^ Roko Construction Limited (18 April 2021). "Roko Construction Limited: Board of Directors". Kampala: Roko Construction Limited. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
^ Tom Malaba (7 November 2015). "The transformation of Uganda Martyrs Shrine". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
^ New Vision (22 September 2011). "Roko Uganda wins DFCU Bank Contract for USD 10M project" (Africa-Uganda Business Travel Guide Quoting New Vision Newspaper). Kampala: Africa-Uganda Business Travel Guide. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
^ JLOS (18 June 2016). "Special Report on the JLOS House Project". Kampala: JLOS House Project. Archived from the original (Archived from the original on 30 June 2016) on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
^ Red Pepper (16 December 2020). "Revealed: Why Roko is not cowed by Roofings' Shs2bn debt". Red Pepper. Mukono, Uganda. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
^ Kim Aine (8 July 2022). "Inside Government's Acquisition of ROKO Shares". ChimpReports.com. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
^ Muhamadi Byemboijana (8 July 2022). "Minister Tables Proposal To Buy USh202.13 Billion Shares And Rescue Roko Construction Firm". SoftPower Uganda. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
^ Uganda Radio Network (8 July 2022). "Government Moves To Buy UGX200 Billion Shares In ROKO". The Independent (Uganda). Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 31 May 2024.