Edha Nahdi’s Bamburi to break ground on $250M clinker plant

Tanzanian billionaire Edha Nahdi’s Bamburi Cement is preparing to break ground on a $250 million clinker plant in Kenya, with President William Ruto expected to lead the ceremony within the next three weeks.

The plant at Matuga in Kwale County will have a daily capacity of 5,000 tons of clinker, the main ingredient in cement, Kenya’s NTV reported on Tuesday. Ruto announced the plans a day after breaking ground on a rival plant built by Kenyan billionaire Narendra Raval in Kitui County.

Bamburi signed a Sh32 billion ($250 million) contract with Chinese builder Sinoma CBMI in December to construct the plant, in a ceremony Ruto attended at State House. The new line will produce 1.6 million tons of clinker a year.

The project will reshape Bamburi’s operations. Its clinker capacity will rise from 1 million tons to 2.6 million tons a year, while its cement capacity will grow from 1.8 million tons to 4 million tons, Kenyan business site Khusoko reported.

“The new clinker line will greatly reduce reliance on imported clinker,” former Bamburi Chief Executive Mohit Kapoor said when the deal was signed. He said the plant would save foreign exchange and help stabilize cement prices.

Kenya has been pushing producers to make clinker locally. Imported clinker faces a 17.5% investment promotion levy on top of other duties, and Ruto has ruled out scrapping it.

The plant is the latest step in Nahdi’s expansion in Kenya. His Amsons Group took control of Bamburi in December 2024, buying a stake of about 96% for $180 million. It also holds a 29.2% stake in East Africa Portland Cement.

Bamburi is also chasing new demand. The company has bid to supply cement and concrete for Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote’s $16 billion Lamu refinery, which is expected to need about 1 million tons of cement products. Bamburi has not yet won a contract.

Nahdi has been expanding beyond cement. Amsons recently agreed to a $230 million deal for Oryx Energies’ Tanzania business, tripling his fuel storage capacity.

The Kwale and Kitui plants are part of a wider $600 million race among East African tycoons to make clinker locally rather than import it.