Construction Equipment Rental Rates in Kenya

Renting or leasing heavy equipment is a great way to run a construction business without having to incur the upfront costs associated with the outright purchase of machinery.

It allows a business to obtain equipment without taking huge loans or depleting its savings account. However, while leasing can help to cut costs, renting equipment is not cheap.

Editor’s note: Obtaining construction equipment rental rates in Kenya is not easy considering that many factors affect the fees that companies charge for their machinery.

Let’s discuss the factors affecting the cost of hiring equipment – regardless of whether you hire a concrete mixer, two graders, or a new machine for excavation.

1. Demand vs. supply

Whenever equipment demand is higher than supply, for example during the construction of a major highway project in a neighbourhood, equipment hire rates will always edge upwards.

The charges for renting a lifting machine, for example, will be higher for a customer in a non-industrial area compared to someone in an industrial area where such equipment is more accessible.

2. Leasing period

Most companies base their charges on the hiring duration. While you can hire machinery on an hourly, daily, or monthly basis, leasing equipment for a longer period — quarterly or yearly — can result in a better rate.

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That said, it is worth noting that equipment leasing can be more expensive in the long term compared to outright purchase of machinery. However, for cash-strapped businesses, leasing allows access to the required equipment without spending much upfront money.

3. Regional monopoly

In some instances, local leasing companies can form a cartel to fix prices for their equipment. It is hard to get a fair deal in such areas as such arrangements work to squeeze every penny from the customer.

Other factors determining the cost of hiring construction equipment in Kenya include the uniqueness of a machine, maintenance service availability and transportation costs of the machinery.

Construction equipment rental rates

Grader hourly hiring charges – Ksh5,000 to 6,000 per hour

Bulldozer D6 hourly hiring charges – Ksh6,000 per hour

Bulldozer D8 hourly hiring charges – Ksh8,000 per hour

Excavator (30 tonnes bucket) hourly hiring charges – Ksh7,500 to 10,000 per hour

Excavator (22 tonnes bucket) hourly hiring charges – Ksh6,000 per hour

Crane (25 tonnes) periodical charges – Ksh1,100, 000

Compactor Roller daily hiring charges – Ksh25,000 per day

Lorry (20 tonnes) daily hiring charges – Ksh20,000 per day

Tata truck daily hiring charges – Ksh17,000 per day

Did we miss any key equipment? Are the figures inaccurate? Please let us know.

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