Kenya-based Savannah Cement has announced that it is set to begin operations in Rwanda early 2015, once the firm gets approval from the Rwanda Standards Board (RSB)
According to estimates by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, local demand for cement in Rwanda is at 400,000 tonnes a year. Ronald Ndegwa, managing director of Savannah Cement, said that the company was attracted to the Rwandan market because of its vibrant nature and investment climate.
“We are required to test and certify our cement before we can enter the market. That’s why we are looking forward to the harmonisation of standards across the East African market – if a firm has been certified by the Kenya Bureau of Standards, for example, it will not be subjected to another certification process. This will avoid delays,” Ndegwa noted.
He said that once the company gets the RSB approval, it will start identifying local cement distributors who can access the product and serve it to other retailers, contractors and the Rwandan government.
Savannah Cement has a capacity to produce 1.5mn tonnes of cement per year. It has operations in Uganda, South Sudan and northern Tanzania.
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