The ground-breaking ceremony for the National Cement Company took place in September 2008. Three years down the line, the company is in full production and expanding, as attested to by the launch of one of its brands, ‘Simba Cement’. Following is what the Devki Group of Companies chairman, Mr Narendra Raval Guru, had to say:
‘We have invested more than Sh2 billion in this state of the art world-class cement plant technology.
By financing this project, our bankers, Kenya Commercial Bank, have shown their faith and confidence in me and my company.
The opening of our world-class cement plant is a giant step towards achieving self-sufficiency in cement production.
Currently, the company produces 400,000 metric tonnes of cement every year, and we plan to expand our capacity to 2.5 million metric tonnes by 2012, by investing extra Sh13 billion.
This will make us the single largest producer of cement in East and Central Africa, and is a step towards the government’s policy of industrialisation by the year 2030.
This expansion of cement manufacture will make the Devki Group the biggest producer of construction materials in this region by 2012.
The quality and strength of Simba Cement is the highest in the market. This brand has been presented with “the Diamond Mark of Quality” by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
Our expansion will reduce the estimated foreign exchange loss Kenya incurs to Sh12 billion per year. Our entry into the market has made it possible to reduce prices by almost 10 per cent.
During the recent financial statement by the Minister for Finance, the government imposed a 10 per cent duty on galvanised wire through Tariff No. 7217.20.00.
We are the largest galvanised wire producer in East Africa, employing 300 Kenyans in this section alone and producing 1000 metric tonnes per month against the East African capacity of 1500 metric tonnes.
This galvanised wire is used to produce barbed wire, chain link, chicken wire and farm fencing. The 10 per cent duty will directly affect farmers, for it may increase prices by almost Sh500 per roll.
It is our humble request to the government that this duty be removed for the benefit of farmers and this industry.
Vision 2030 cannot be achieved without supporting the core steel industry. Kenya has very limited iron ore reserves and we wish to put up a proposal for a project worth US$500 million, which will employ 20,000 people.
Iron ore is a core raw material for the steel industry, and we must stop its further export for the benefit of the country. Investors should be supported to put up integrated steel plant, leading to true industrialisation.
Kenya has the biggest economy in this region and we expect favourable tariffs on core raw materials like iron ore and galvanised industrial wire.
Devki is the largest construction steel producer in the region, employing 3,000 workers, while Maisha Mabati Mills Ltd at Ruiru has 500 workers.
National Cement employs 300 people, and with the expansion, we expect to increase employment by another 700, which will bring the total to 4500 Kenyans.
On corporate social responsibility, Devki Group is running a children’s home in Athi river. We also support schools like Machakos Girls, Mavoko Secondary, Athi River Primary, and many more.
We sponsor many students to university as well. At the same time, we are supporting Ruiru Sub-district Hospital and many other medical facilities in this region.
The rising food prices are really affecting common wananchi, who find it difficult to meet day-to-day needs. The only solution to this problem is job-creation and industrialisation.’
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