Devki builds Kitui's first cement plant, a KSh50 billion bet

Devki Group, one of Kenya's biggest manufacturers, is building Kitui County's first cement plant, near rich limestone deposits in Mwingi North. The company puts the cost at about KSh50 billion ($385 million). The Star has reported a figure of KSh55 billion.

The plant

• Capacity: 3 million tonnes of cement a year, according to Global Cement and CemNet.
• Site: the Ngaaie area of Mwingi North. The Star places it at Kanana in Kyuso ward and says Devki's Simba National Cement unit is building it.
• Timeline: construction began in March 2026, according to The Star. Operations are expected from mid-2027.
• Owner: Devki Group, chaired by industrialist Narendra Raval.

Jobs and a changing village

The Star reported that about 2,600 people are working on the site now, rising to more than 4,000 at the peak of construction in January 2027. It expects 3,000 to 3,200 permanent jobs once the plant runs. Traders, food vendors and transporters have set up around the site, and local elders say land prices have doubled or tripled.

"Jobs will not come if we don't do industrialisation in the country," Raval said, according to KBC. Devki is also building classrooms, connecting water and running a school feeding programme in the area.

Why it matters

Kitui has long been one of Kenya's less industrialised counties. Making cement closer to markets in eastern and northern Kenya could lower building costs. Raval says the plant will eventually produce enough clinker, the key ingredient in cement, to meet Kenya's needs, which would cut imports.