A 750m tonne cement plant is set for construction on a 20-hectare piece of land in Mariakani, Kilifi County. It will cost a whooping US $290m and will be the second factory in the area after ARM Cement.
Building material billionaire Narendra Raval plans to invest in the mega project at a time when other players in the industry are complaining of excess capacity. Bamburi and Savannah cement also plan to increase cement production in the near future.
Mr. Raval confirmed the news and said that the construction of the new plant will eventually lead to the reduction of cement prices in the country as well as reducing the distance of transportation of the product to Kenyans.
Also Read: US $48m cement plant to be constructed in Machakos
“When we launched our operations six years ago, our goal was to reduce the cost of housing and it is being realized as we have managed to offer quality cement at US $5.3 ex-factory compared to the then market price of US $6.7 per 50-kilogramme bag before our entry,” he said.
“Construction of a new cement plant will further bring down the prices while reducing the long distances lorries cover to deliver cement to Kenyans at their doorstep,” he added.
Mr Raval, who is popularly known as Guru, owns a cement grinding plant in Lukenya, Machakos and a clinkering plant at Simba town, Kajiado. His Devki Group owns steelmaking factories in Athi River, Machakos and Ruiru town in Kiambu.
This news comes after Global Choice Ltd finalized plans to build a grinding plant with an annual cement production capacity of one million metric tonnes. The plant will cost US$ 48m and will be located in Athi River, Machakos County.
