Devki Seeks Nod for 5,500-Tonne Kitui Clinker Factory

Devki Group of Companies is seeking approval to construct a 5,500-tonne clinker factory in Kitui, barely a month after launching a similar facility in West Pokot.

Devki Group of Companies is seeking approval to construct a 5,500-tonne clinker factory in Kitui, barely a month after launching a similar facility in West Pokot.

The company, through its subsidiary, Cemtech Limited, has submitted the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) for appraisal.

“The proposed clinker production line and associated facilities are located in Mwatsuma on plot no Mwingi/Mwatsuma/36 in Mwingi Central, Kitui County,” states the EIA report.

If approved, the plant, the construction cost of which has not yet been disclosed, will strengthen the company’s control over local clinker production.

Last month, Devki, owned by billionaire Narendra Raval, opened a Sh29 billion clinker production factory at Sebit in Kipkomo, West Pokot.

The plant will process clinker instead of manufacturing cement as initially planned.

Once crushed at the new plant, the clinker, the main raw material in cement manufacturing, will be transported to a grinding plant in Eldoret town.

The plant can produce 6,000 tonnes of clinker daily.

RELATED: Devki Opens Sh29bn Clinker Factory in West Pokot

“We want to invest in all the counties,” Mr Raval said during the opening of the Cemtech Sebit Clinkerization Plant on April 8, 2024.

Amid high taxation on imported clinker, Kenyan cement manufacturers are increasingly investing in the production of the raw material locally.

Bamburi Cement, National Cement, and Mombasa Cement have already invested in local clinker production, as it seeks to cut costs and improve their performances.

The East African Portland Cement Company has also announced plans to invest Sh30 billion to set up a clinker production factory in Kajiado County.

The proposed factory, which will have an annual clinker capacity of about 5,000 metric tonnes, will be located on a 300-acre parcel of land within the county.

“In the next year, the plans will be clear as already geologists are doing surveys,” said EAPCC managing director Oliver Kirubia.

The company said that clinker produced at the factory would be used for local cement production, with the surplus being exported to neighbouring countries.

To cushion local cement makers from cheap imports, the Kenyan government has introduced a 17.5% levy on imported clinker, incentivizing local production.

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