East African Portland Cement PLC (EAPCC) has shut down its Athi River-based factory for a Sh400 million upgrade in a plan to triple production capacity by 2026.
Oliver Kirubai, the EAPCC managing director, said the factory would remain shut for the replacement of machines such as bag fillers and refractory bricks used to insulate equipment against heat.
"We are doing the second phase of our machines upgrade, which is basically targeting to increase our output. Our target is that by June 2026 we should be able to produce one million tonnes of cement," he said in an interview.
East African Portland Cement temporarily shuts down for maintenance
The EAPCC plant currently produces 310,000 tonnes of cement annually. The upgrade is being undertaken by seven local contractors.
"The seven local contractors are spearheading the upgrade of this plant. They will work with us during the 25-day closure of this facility," Mr Kirubai said.
EAPCC recorded a full-year loss of Sh 1.3 billion for the financial year ended June 2023, reversing a previous Sh541.5 million profit the year before.
The loss was attributed to higher costs that raised the firm's cost of sales to Sh3.9 billion from Sh2.9 billion previously, offsetting a 37 percent growth in revenue. In the year under review, its revenues rose to Sh 2.9 billion from Sh2.1 billion a year earlier.
