Cement manufacturing firm, Savannah Cement, has announced the successful development of a road construction special product to support ongoing roads infrastructure development at the county and national level.
The cement blend product, technically known as a Hydraulic Road Binder (HRB), is used to stabilise road surfaces and has been developed in response to a request by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.
Development of the new HRB Product makes Savannah the first sub-Saharan Africa Cement firm to manufacture such a specialist product.
On receiving the product certification mark from Kenya’s Bureau of Standards MD, Charles Ongwae, Savannah Cement MD, Ronald Ndegwa, said Savannah Cement’s HRB product will retail at a lower price than conventional cement and is expected to contribute up to 30% cost savings on the Sh25-billion national road construction budget.
Globally, HRB products are used in place of mainstream cement and lime products for soil stabilisation on loose road surfaces.
“This certification has been done to meet the European Standards as we work on getting a Kenyan Standard. This mark will go a long way in helping Savannah market HRB in Kenya and other regions, helping us to fulfill our key objective as KeBS of facilitating trade within and outside the country,” Ongwae said.
Before releasing the product to the market Savannah HRB is undergoing intensive application and related tests using local road building materials.
To grow its local and regional market share Savannah Cement has lined up development projects valued at more than Sh26.3 billion which include an investment plan to establish a clinker manufacturing facility and commission the second grinding plant at its production complex, near Kitengela township.
The firm has already invested more than Sh8.7 billion to develop cement manufacturing plants in sub-Saharan Africa with 1.5-million-tonnes annual production capacity.
By Margaret Wahito
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