Tanzanian tycoon Edha Nahdi has taken a decisive step to reshape Kenya’s cement industry, committing $250 million to the construction of a large-scale clinkerisation plant that ranks among the country’s most significant industrial investments in recent years.
Through Bamburi Cement Plc, now part of Nahdi’s Amsons Group, the company has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with China’s Sinoma CBMI Construction Co. to build a state-of-the-art facility along Kenya’s coast.
The Ksh32 billion project, announced nearly a year after Amsons Group completed its acquisition of Bamburi Cement, signals a strategic pivot toward deeper local manufacturing, reduced reliance on imported clinker and a stronger platform to serve Kenya’s expanding infrastructure needs. It also underscores Amsons’ long-term commitment to East Africa’s industrialisation agenda, anchored by substantial capital deployment rather than short-term market plays.
Under the agreement, Bamburi will develop a 1.6 million-tonne-per-year clinker plant in Matuga, Kwale County. Once operational, the facility will dramatically alter the company’s production profile. Clinker output is expected to rise from approximately 1 million tonnes annually to about 2.6 million tonnes, while cement production capacity will more than doublefrom 1.8 million tonnes to roughly 4 million tonnes per year. The expansion is designed to secure clinker self-sufficiency, a critical objective for cement producers grappling with volatile global import prices, foreign exchange pressures and supply chain disruptions.
By producing more of its key input locally, Bamburi aims to stabilise supply, improve production planning and enhance product consistency for Kenya’s domestic market. Company executives say the investment will not only lower long-term costs but also provide greater resilience in an industry that is closely tied to public infrastructure spending and private construction cycles.
The significance of the project was highlighted by the high-level attendance at the signing ceremony, which included Kenyan President William Ruto, Amsons Group Managing Director Edha Nahdi and Bamburi Cement Chairman John Simba. Their presence underscored the alignment of the investment with the government’s development priorities, particularly the push to expand domestic manufacturing under Kenya’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
Bamburi Cement Chief Executive Officer Mohit Kapoor said the clinker plant would place the company in a far stronger position to support Kenya’s long-term infrastructure ambitions. He noted that reducing dependence on imported clinker is not only a commercial imperative but also a strategic one, given the uncertainties in global trade and currency markets.
Beyond capacity expansion, the Matuga plant has been designed with sustainability at its core. The facility will incorporate cutting-edge, energy-efficient technologies, including a six-stage precalciner system and the use of alternative fuels aimed at reducing emissions. Bamburi says these measures align with international climate standards and reflect the company’s broader environmental strategy, while supporting national efforts to balance industrial growth with environmental responsibility.
Since joining Amsons Group, Bamburi Cement has steadily expanded its footprint within Kenya. The company has rolled out ready-mix concrete plants and precast manufacturing facilities in Nairobi and Mombasa, strengthening its presence across the construction value chain. The new clinker plant is viewed as the cornerstone of this expansion, integrating Bamburi more deeply into Amsons’ wider East African operations.
For Nahdi, the investment represents more than a single industrial project. It is part of a broader vision to strengthen regional supply chains, back Kenya’s industrialisation drive and position Amsons Group as a long-term partner in East Africa’s economic transformation. With Sinoma CBMI, an experienced global cement plant builder and a subsidiary of China National Building Material Group on board, Bamburi expects the project to be delivered on schedule and to perform reliably over the long term.
As Kenya accelerates spending on roads, housing and large-scale infrastructure, the Matuga clinker plant is set to play a pivotal role in supplying the materials needed to build the country’s next phase of growth, firmly anchoring Bamburi Cement, and Edha Nahdi’s Amsons Group, at the heart of that journey.
