Kisumu County is set for a second cement factory in the Awasi area, adding to its growing profile as an emerging hub for the manufacture of the binding agent used in construction.
Regulatory filings show that an investor, Mamba Cement Limited, plans to set up a small-scale cement grinding and blending plant in the Awasi location, with a capacity of processing approximately 180 tonnes of the product daily.
The investors said that the Sh59.98million factory would produce cement and related by-products, mostly for sale in the Western Kenya region.
“Mamba Cement Limited is committed to supporting Kenya’s growing demand for cement by establishing a modern cement manufacturing plant,” the company said.
Once operational, the proposed cement factory will be the second cement plant in the Nyando belt, alongside the existing Rai Cement plant.
It will also add to a range of industrial activities in the area, including steel-making, sugar production and quarrying.
Although these cement grinders are small, the developments are gradually positioning the Nyando belt as an emerging cement-making hub, similar to Machakos and the Coast region.
“The operational phase of the proposed project will involve the production of cement, with associated by-products such as kiln dust, clinker dust, and quarry overburden. The main inputs will include limestone, gypsum, pozzolana, clinker, raw water, and electricity,” Mamba Cement said.
Rai Cement is the only other cement factory that has been operating in Awasi on the Kericho-Kisumu Highway.
Industrialist Sarbjit Singh Rai established the factory in 2017 to serve customers in the North Rift, South Rift, Nyanza and Western regions.
Rai Cement, whose location was initially in Kaplelach Village, Kericho County, was the first cement grinding plant in the western Kenya region, as the others were concentrated around Machakos or on the Coast.
Mamba Cement’s choice of Awasi appears to have been driven largely by logistics and access to raw materials.
“The proposed cement factory is strategically located within an area that is already characterised by significant industrial and commercial activity. The project site lies in proximity to several 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,” Mamba said.
“The presence of these operations demonstrates that the surrounding environment is already industrial in nature, making the proposed cement factory compatible with the existing land use. Because quarries and manufacturing already operate within the immediate area, the marginal change in industrial character is limited”
Mamba plans to sell its cement to local, national and regional markets, with finished products transported through the Kisumu–Nairobi highway.
The Kenyan cement sector has recorded increased interest, both from local and foreign investors in the quest for a bigger share of the building industry’s supply chain.
Sarbjit, who owns Rai Cement, also intends to set up another cement and clinker production plant in Kieni, Nyeri County, at an undisclosed price, according to a regulatory disclosure. Cement consumption crossed the one-million-tonne monthly mark for the first time in July, signalling an acceleration in construction activity as the State-backed affordable housing programme expands.Consumption reached 1.008 million tonnes during the month, up 13.5 percent from 888,003 tonnes in July 2025, according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, pointing to a growing market for cement manufacturers and investors.
Cement production also crossed 1 million tonnes, rising to 1.029 million tonnes from 906,979 tonnes a year earlier, as manufacturers responded to stronger demand.
