Clinker is a key ingredient in cement manufacturing
Devki Group of Companies will start producing clinker from locally deep-mined limestone in the next six months, the firm’s head has said.
Speaking to Reuters in an interview on Tuesday, Devki Group’s Chairman Raval Guru said the firm will invest about US$140 million in the project that will be funded by commercial bank and syndicate loans.
“Mining of limestone, together with the clinker plant, will cost US$140 million in Kenya,” Guru said adding that Devki also plans to mine copper in Democratic Republic of Congo by early 2012.
“We will need US$20 million to start mining (copper) and process from the DR Congo. We’ve already invested in a US$20 million plant there,” said Guru.
Kenya depends on imports for clinker, an important ingredient in cement manufacturing, and its production locally will reduce the cost of the final product by up to 15 per cent.
Devki’s National Cement Factoryproduces 400,000 tonnes of cement annually and the production capacity is expected to rise to 2.5 million tonnes after expanding next year.
Riding on the wave of the region’s construction boom occasioned by massive investment in infrastructure and real estate, Guru predicted that Devki’s revenue will more than double to US$500 million by 2013.
