The East African Portland Cement resumed cement production using its own clinker. The giant factory roared back to life after part of its Kiln Shell which had been dilapidated for years causing frequent downtimes was replaced.
According to the cement manufacturer, the recent upgrade will help the plant improve reliability and an output increase of almost 50 percent. The company says with the upgrade, Blue Triangle Cement will be produced in plenty and availed across the Country.
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The plant will now be operating at optimum capacity. This will in turn save costs for the company and make the final product more affordable and accessible by millions of Kenyans within and without the construction sector.
The start of the production at the East African Portland Cement comes at a time the constriction industry in Kenya has rejuvenated and expanded t a faster rate. Stats show that Kenya was among a small number of countries whose construction industry expanded in 2020, with output in the year rising by 11.8 percent in real terms.
Experts say that they expect Kenya’s construction industry to expand further this year, by 9 percent, and then by an annual average of 6.1 percent between 2022-2025.
The expansion will be supported by the government’s focus on developing the country’s infrastructure. Kenya’s construction industry’s value added grew by 6.4 percent year on year (YoY) in Q2 2021, preceded by year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth of 7.3 percent in Q1 2021 and 16.2 percent in Q4 2020, according to the data released by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
The East African Portland Cement hopes to capitalize on the expanding construction industry to up its cement production and satisfy the market.