· As part of their strategy to expand to the EAC and central African region, Kenyan cement companies are busy finalising their expansion plans.
· Kenya accounts for almost 50% of the East Africa region’s installed cement capacity.
· Currently the estimated capacity of EAC is pegged at 15.6 million tonnes.
As part of their strategy to expand to the EAC and central African region, Kenyan cement companies are busy finalising their expansion plans. Kenya accounts for almost 50% of the East Africa region’s installed cement capacity. Currently, the estimated capacity of EAC is pegged at 15.6 million tonnes. Of that, 8.6 million tonnes come from Kenya according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
Currently, the capacity of the Kenyan Cement firm stands at 6.3 metric tonnes. They plan to expand their total clinker production capacity by 70 percent to 10.7 metric tonnes per year by 2023. The leading companies like East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), National Cement, Bamburi Cement, Karsan Ramji & Sons, Rai Cement and Savannah Cement propose to add a total of 4.4 metric tonnes annually to their clinker capacities.
The expansion plans of these companies make sense when one looks at the upcoming infrastructure projects in the region. In Uganda and Tanzania road projects and the Standard Gauge Railway are under implementation. In Kenya, the demand for cement has gone up due to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Agenda Four pillars including housing and manufacturing sectors. The Pandemic has not affected the demand Due to the government spending on infrastructure, the cement industry recorded double-digit growth. Some of the mega Infrastructural projects that have led to higher cement consumption include the Nairobi Expressway, Dongo Kundu bypass, James Gichuru-Rironi highway, Nairobi Western bypass, as well as the construction of mega dams in various parts of the country.
The companies are eyeing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) market with its estimated 10 million metric tonnes annual demand of cement for its infrastructure development. The DRC is set to join the EAC regional bloc this year.
Last week, the DRC Deputy President and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen’Apala stated that his country has embarked on a national programme of reconstruction in various sectors including infrastructure, agriculture, energy and environmental conservation. He added that road construction especially in the eastern Congo is part of its major plans and DRC is keen on partnerships and investment in major infrastructure projects.
