A consortium of investors from Europe and Asia is set to build a new Sh1.5 billion sugar factory in Rangwe, Homa Bay County, adding to a growing chain of greenfield projects in the industry, which has a deficit of the sweetener.
New disclosures showed that the investors plan to build the Muwariziki Sugar Factory within the Genga location of the Rangwe sub-county—some 35 kilometres from the existing Ndhiwa Sugar Factory.
“The goal of the project is to establish 1,250 tonnes of cane a day (TCD) sugar factory expandable to 1,500.
“The project is expected to utilise the excess sugar cane in the area and help alleviate the suffering of the sugarcane farmers who have decried sugarcane remaining unharvested for long periods,” said regulatory filings.
The proposed project will involve the establishment of a new vacuum pan plant with considerations of a cogeneration power plant of three megawatts and an ethanol distillery of 20-kilo litres per day capacity.
“The outgrowers targeted by the proposed sugar factory will be expected to fall mainly within a 15-kilometre radius of the factory area and will cover mainly Genga and West Gem ward areas of Rangwe Sub-County,” the investors said.
“Out of the mapped area, 60 percent of cane is established and the balance of 40 percent will be new crop establishment and would be planted in synchrony with factory crushing capacity.”
The investors said the three-megawatt co-gen power project would operate on mill bagasse during 250 season days the sugar plant would be milling and on saved bagasse for 27 offseason days.
Kenya traditionally has an annual production deficit of about 200,000 tonnes of sugar which has since widened due to rising consumer populations. It mainly relies on imports from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
To cash on the supply opportunity, many investors have lined up factory projects across the country worth more than Sh15 billion.
The bulk of the greenfield sugar factory projects fall within Narok, Nandi, and Kericho counties—a conspicuous shift from the traditional cane-growing zones in western Kenya such as Nyando, Mumias, Migori, Homa Bay, and Kakamega.
For example, Angata Sugar Mills is setting up a Sh4.37 billion ($33.8 million) sugar milling plant in Moyoi in Transmara scheduled to commence production in September 2025. A plan showed that the Angata factory and its auxiliaries’ plants or installations would be located on about 200 acres.
Transmara is also set to host a Sh1.5 billion Soit Sugar Factory within the Olomismis area. A blueprint showed that the Soit factory would have a milling capacity of 1,250 TCD, expandable to 2,500, and with the potential to generate three megawatts of captive power.
In the operational phase of the project, Soit will produce mill brown sugar with bagasse and molasses as by-products. Other by-products will include filter mud and boiler ash.
In Nandi County, investors have lined up the construction of a Sh357.8 million Tiryo Sugar Mill in the Tinderet area along the Nandi Hills- Kimwani Road with a capacity of 1,000 TCD. A blueprint of the project showed the factory will start with a milling capacity of 800TCD and will include a 45 kilolitre per day distillery and a 5MW co-generation plant.
The neighbouring Kericho is set to host West Valley Sugar Company whose Sh2.8 billion factory is scheduled to start trial runs in August this year with the hope of official commissioning in October.
The West Valley factory will have an initial installed capacity of 1,250 TCD, which would be doubled to 2,500 tonnes. It will cover the Soin-Sigowet, Ainamoi, Kipkelion, Tinderet, Muhoroni, and Nyando sugar belts. The project is a subsidiary of Kipchimchim Group of Companies, a family-owned business with over 20 multisectoral companies under its stable.
In Alego, Siaya County an investor Seal Sugar Limited has lined up a new factory that will have an initial capacity of 1,250 TCD that will be expanded to 2,500 later on. It does provide the estimated capital for the project, but industry figures show it will involve a minimum of Sh300 million.
