Narendra Raval’s Devki Group counts on new plant to cut cement prices in Kenya

Kenya-based manufacturing conglomerate Devki Group has revealed that it is counting on its new cement plant project in the county of West Pokot to cut down the price of cement in the country.

The conglomerate said its increased productivity, coupled with the cost efficiency of the project, will see the company pass on the resultant price benefits to consumers in the form of lower prices, The Star reported.

The West Pokot Cement Plant is in its early stages and is expected to create jobs for the local community.

The conglomerate is holding public participation and consultative forums with residents and leaders in the area to ensure that the community makes the most of the project.

Devki Group Chairman Narendra Raval said the plant’s construction will take only 18 months to complete and will kick off immediately after the public participation and consultative stages.

Aside from the project’s social benefits such as creating jobs for Kenyans, the project is expected to grow the country’s housing supply, as the Kenyan government looks to provide half a million new homes for Kenyans.

Devki Group is a privately-owned manufacturing conglomerate founded by Kenya-based multimillionaire industrialist Raval in 1986.

Raval started the group as a small steel-processing and -trading outfit with his wife in downtown Nairobi from his modest savings.

The business later grew into a success story, and is now the largest construction material and steel product  manufacturer in East and Central Africa.

Aside from its business in Kenya, the conglomerate operates through its subsidiaries in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The company’s focus on the West Pokot Plant follows an investment in clinker production, which is already paying conglomerate huge dividends. It recently supplied neighboring countries, including Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, from its 3-million-tonne clinker line in Mbirkani in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province.

Raval is the majority shareholder in Devki Group. His estimated net worth was $400 million in 2015.