Is Block Making Business Profitable in Uganda? Cost per Block in Kampala, Jinja, Mbarara and Gulu

Short answer: yes, block making is profitable in Uganda when the blocks are made by machine. With the real recipe of one of our customers, a machine-made 8-inch hollow block (400×200×200 mm) costs about UGX 1,540–1,750 to make in Kampala, Jinja, Mbarara and Gulu and sells for about UGX 2,200–2,900, a margin of about 27–47%. In Kampala, a BLOCKMASTER 4 making 4,000 blocks a day makes about UGX 52.6 million (≈US$12,200) a month at the low end of the price range. We have already installed a CBM 20-2 block machine in Kampala, rated at 8,000 8-inch blocks a day.

This guide uses the same method as our general guide is a block making business profitable, city by city.

Download the presentation (PDF, 5 pages): the same calculation as a presentation with the BLOCKMASTER 4, 8 and 10, to print or share.

The recipe: about 64 eight-inch blocks from one bag

One of our customers made 7,500 hollow blocks of 400×200×150 mm with 30 mm shells from 120 bags of cement, 55.5 m³ of sand and 37 m³ of chippings: 62.5 blocks per bag. Our blocks here have 25 mm shells and need less concrete: about 64 eight-inch blocks per bag.

This is where a vibrating machine pays for itself: a yard that gets only 40 blocks from a bag spends about UGX 300 more on cement per 8-inch block, most of the margin. Many Kampala block makers use quarry dust, so our Kampala figures do too, at UGX 65,000 per m³.

Our assumptions

• A BLOCKMASTER 4 or CBM 12 with a crew of 8 and a generator burning about 45 litres of diesel a day, making 4,000 8-inch blocks a day (5,000 6-inch), 26 days a month, and selling its full output.
• 6% added for water, curing, maintenance and breakage.
• Monthly profit is cautious: the low end of the selling price range, 5% material waste, 30% higher pay for skilled operators, 10% other costs and about US$1,500 a month of fixed costs (manager, security, rent).
• UGX 4,300 to the US dollar. Labour is the usual daily rate for a general worker (Uganda has no legal minimum wage).

Cost per 8-inch block in four cities

City	Cement (50 kg)	Sand or quarry dust per m³	Aggregates per m³	Labour per day	Diesel per litre	Cost per block
Kampala	UGX 32,000	UGX 65,000 (quarry dust)	UGX 85,000	UGX 20,000	UGX 7,000	≈UGX 1,580
Jinja	UGX 32,000	UGX 68,000	UGX 80,000	UGX 15,000	UGX 7,100	≈UGX 1,570
Mbarara	UGX 34,000	UGX 80,000	UGX 90,000	UGX 15,000	UGX 7,200	≈UGX 1,750
Gulu	UGX 36,000	UGX 45,000	UGX 95,000	UGX 13,000	UGX 7,500	≈UGX 1,540

Labour and diesel add only about UGX 120 per block; cement, sand and aggregates are the real cost.

Selling price and profit per block

City	Selling price (8-inch)	Profit per block	Margin	Profit per month, BLOCKMASTER 4
Kampala	UGX 2,300–2,600	UGX 720–1,020	31–39%	UGX 52.6 million (≈US$12,200)
Jinja	UGX 2,200–2,500	UGX 630–930	29–37%	UGX 43.8 million (≈US$10,200)
Mbarara	UGX 2,400–2,700	UGX 650–950	27–35%	UGX 44.6 million (≈US$10,400)
Gulu	UGX 2,500–2,900	UGX 960–1,360	38–47%	UGX 78.8 million (≈US$18,300)

Kampala prices come from several price lists; for Jinja, Mbarara and Gulu we found few, so treat them as estimates. Gulu looks best because local sand is cheap and fewer yards compete; check its block prices locally.

Profit by machine size in Kampala

Monthly profit on 8-inch blocks in Kampala, at full capacity, the low end of the price range and fixed costs of about US$1,500, 2,500 and 3,000 a month:

Machine	8-inch blocks a day	Crew	Profit per month
BLOCKMASTER 4 / CBM 12	4,000	8	UGX 52.6 million (≈US$12,200)
BLOCKMASTER 8 / CBM 20	8,000	11	UGX 115 million (≈US$26,700)
BLOCKMASTER 10 / CBM 25	10,000	14	UGX 148 million (≈US$34,300)

Our CBM 20-2 in Kampala is a double-hopper machine in the 8,000-a-day class that also makes paving stones.

And 6-inch blocks?

The same machine makes 6-inch blocks of 400×200×150 mm, 5,000 a day, by changing the mould:

City	Cost per 6-inch block	Selling price	Margin
Kampala	≈UGX 1,380	UGX 1,800–2,100	23–34%
Jinja	≈UGX 1,370	UGX 1,800–2,000	24–31%
Mbarara	≈UGX 1,530	UGX 1,900–2,200	20–30%
Gulu	≈UGX 1,350	UGX 2,000–2,400	33–44%

The margin is a little thinner than on 8-inch blocks, so make 6-inch blocks to complete your range.

25 mm or 30 mm shells: what is the difference?

A 25 mm shell uses less cement, sand and aggregates than a 30 mm shell: about 64 instead of 55 eight-inch blocks per bag.

City	Cost per 8-inch block, 30 mm	Cost, 25 mm	Margin, 30 mm	Margin, 25 mm
Kampala	≈UGX 1,830	≈UGX 1,580	20–30%	31–39%
Jinja	≈UGX 1,820	≈UGX 1,570	17–27%	29–37%
Mbarara	≈UGX 2,030	≈UGX 1,750	16–25%	27–35%
Gulu	≈UGX 1,780	≈UGX 1,540	29–39%	38–47%

25 mm shells are more profitable. 30 mm shells give a stronger block and some customers ask for them, so many yards make both and price them accordingly.

Blocks or bbumba bricks?

Burnt clay bricks (bbumba) cost about UGX 450–500 delivered in Kampala. A thick outer wall of bricks needs about 96 bricks per m², around UGX 45,600, while 12 eight-inch blocks cost around UGX 29,400: about 36% less. Brick walls also take much more mortar and plaster, and blocks go up faster.

Demand, power and the shilling

• Housing: the Ministry of Lands puts the deficit at about 2.48 million homes; Uganda needs about 300,000 new homes a year but builds about 60,000.
• Oil region: with EACOP, Tilenga and Kingfisher largely built, Hoima, Buliisa and Kabaale are drawing an industrial park, an airport, hotels and housing. We have no block prices there; check locally.
• Electricity: small businesses pay about UGX 562 per kWh, but outages roughly doubled after UEDCL took over distribution and the grid has collapsed several times this year. Plan for a generator; our costs assume diesel.
• The shilling: it fell sharply in recent weeks, at one point to about 4,500 per dollar. Blocks sell in shillings and use local sand and aggregates, so the margin per block holds, but the dollar figures move with the rate and cement uses imported clinker.

Which machine for which volume?

• About 4,000 8-inch blocks a day: BLOCKMASTER 4 or CBM 12. The egg-laying MBM4 works without pallets.
• About 8,000 a day: BLOCKMASTER 8 or CBM 20, the class of our Kampala installation.
• About 10,000 a day: BLOCKMASTER 10, or the CBM 25, which also makes paving blocks.

See also block machine capacity calculation and concrete block mix proportions.

What this calculation does not include

• Land, buildings, delivery trucks, depreciation, taxes, permits and loan repayments.
• Unsold stock and slow rainy-season months.

Sources for the prices

• Blocks, bricks, cement, sand and aggregates: Aura Build, Smeaton Constructions, Lexa Uganda, iConic Concrete Group, hardware price lists, Jiji listings.
• Diesel: Daily Monitor, Nile Post. Electricity: ERA. Housing: Ministry of Lands. Exchange rate: Bank of Uganda.

Frequently asked questions

How much profit per block in Uganda?

On machine-made 8-inch blocks: about UGX 720–1,020 in Kampala, 630–930 in Jinja, 650–950 in Mbarara and 960–1,360 in Gulu.

How many blocks from one bag of cement?

Machine-made with 25 mm shells, about 64 eight-inch or 73 six-inch blocks; with 30 mm shells, about 55 eight-inch. Hand-moulded blocks give far fewer.

Are blocks cheaper than bbumba bricks?

Per square metre of thick wall, yes: about 36% less than a full brick wall, with much less mortar.

Does İBAR MAKİNA install the machine in Uganda?

Yes. Our machines are built in our own factory in Çerkezköy, Türkiye; installation and operator training are included in the price, machines carry a 2-year warranty and spare parts are shipped from stock on the same day.

Send us your city, the block size you want to make and your target daily output on WhatsApp, and we will recommend a machine and run these numbers with your local prices.