Kenyan tycoon opens new $280 million clinker plant

Kenyan cement producer National Cement, a subsidiary company of the Devki Group owned by business mogul Narendra Raval, has officially launched its $280 million cement clinker plant located in Merrueshi/Mbirikani in Kajiado County, 80 km south of Nairobi.

The clinker plant, which has a manufacturing capacity of 1.2 million metric tonnes per year, was built for $280 million with financing coming from a string of local and international banks. A 15-MW power plant was also constructed to power the clinker plant.At the unveiling of the cement plant on Wednesday, attended by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Raval said the development of the new clinker plant was in support of the President’s efforts in creating quality jobs for Kenyans by expanding the manufacturing sector.

President Uhuru Kenyatta said that apart from job creation, the factory would help reduce cement prices in the country and enable more Kenyans to build their own houses.“This will strengthen the country because it will make it far easier for us to achieve our target of half a million new homes for Kenyans,” the President said.Narendra Raval said the Devki Group is planning to build new cement and steel factories in Nakuru and Mombasa in the next four years.

The Devki Group is a $600 million (revenues) conglomerate that produces steel products and cement in Kenya, Uganda and the DRC. Raval has donated several million dollars to causes in education, health and the arts, and has pledged to donate half his fortune to charity.