Nyayo car firm seeks to revamp its operations

To bridge the shortfall, some Industrial goods manufacturers who use steel and metal products have resorted to importing metal products and iron sheets from China to meet their production demands.

But officials at the numeric machining complex say the establishment of a new steel plant at the engineering firm will ensure the availability of steel and metal products in Kenya and across the east African region.

“By importing so many spare parts and steel products, the country has been exporting jobs to the countries from which we buy from,” said Industrialisation minister Mr Henry Kosgey.

Besides creating a market for scrap metals, the complex will also strengthen Kenya’s metal industry by producing special steels and metal products.

A survey by the Association of Manufactures says that metal and steel sector has over the years contributed on average of 13 per cent of the country’s total manufacturing production.

Sugar mills

The complex is the only one in Africa outside Egypt and South Africa that can manufacture lathe machines, gearboxes, spare parts for Nissan and Peugeot cars, trailer undercarriage parts, brake blocks for train locomotives, rollers for sugar milling factories, cement balls, non ferocious castings and brake discs.

Mr Kosgey says the government intends to buy about 210 lathe machines at a cost of Sh2.5 million each from the complex to be used in the constituencies’ industrial centres.

The centres were mooted to increase employment opportunities for the youth at the grass root level.