Mamba Cement plans Sh59.98m grinding plant in Kisumu's Awasi as Nyando belt grows
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Regulatory filings show Mamba Cement intends to build a small grinding and blending plant processing about 180 tonnes a day in Awasi, making it the second cement factory in the Nyando belt after Rai Cement.
Kisumu County is set for a second cement factory in the Awasi area after regulatory filings showed that Mamba Cement Limited plans to set up a small-scale grinding and blending plant with capacity to process approximately 180 tonnes of cement daily.
The Sh59.98 million factory will produce cement and related by-products, mainly for sale in the Western Kenya region, according to the filings. Mamba Cement said the operational phase would generate by-products such as kiln dust, clinker dust and quarry overburden, with inputs including limestone, gypsum, pozzolana, clinker, raw water and electricity.
Once operational, the plant will be the second cement factory in the Nyando belt alongside Rai Cement, which industrialist Sarbjit Singh Rai established in 2017 to serve the North Rift, South Rift, Nyanza and Western regions. Rai Cement, initially located in Kaplelach Village in Kericho County, was the first cement grinding plant in western Kenya, with others concentrated around Machakos or the Coast. Rai also intends to set up another cement and clinker plant in Kieni, Nyeri County, at an undisclosed price.
Mamba Cement said its choice of Awasi was driven largely by logistics and access to raw materials. The site lies close to established quarries and industrial facilities including Gogni (Seabud) Quarry, Stone Field Quarry, Vic Block, SBI Awasi, H. Young Quarry, Rai Cement and Prime Steel Mills, which the company argued makes the proposed plant compatible with the existing industrial land use.
The investment comes as Kenyan cement demand accelerates. Consumption crossed the one-million-tonne monthly mark for the first time in July, reaching 1.008 million tonnes, up 13.5% from 888,003 tonnes in July 2025, according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics data. Production also passed one million tonnes, rising to 1.029 million tonnes from 906,979 tonnes a year earlier.
Although the new grinders are small, the developments are gradually positioning the Nyando belt as an emerging cement-making hub similar to Machakos and the Coast, adding to industrial activity in the area that already includes steel-making, sugar production and quarrying.