Bamburi Cement is positioning itself for a major supply contract for the Sh2.2 trillion Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery in Lamu, targeting more than one million tonnes of cement and concrete products for the construction of the mega project.
The Mombasa-based manufacturer says it is pursuing the commercial opportunity to supply locally manufactured construction materials throughout the development cycle of the 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery, whose groundbreaking was held in Lamu on September 30.
Bamburi chief executive Geoffrey Ndugwa said the company is ready to manufacture and deliver specialised cement and concrete from its Mombasa plant to the project site.
“The civil and related construction works for the 700,000 barrel-per-day refinery will consume an approximate 1 million tons of cement and concrete solutions, and we are well positioned to manufacture and deliver to the project site from our Mombasa plant,” Ndugwa said.
The material requirement represents a significant opportunity for Kenya’s cement industry, particularly as the Government has indicated that local manufacturers and suppliers are expected to participate in the refinery and wider petrochemical complex.
Bamburi is proposing its DuraCem 42.5 LH/SR, a speciality cement designed for aggressive environments, including structures exposed to sulphates and moisture.
The product is manufactured at Bamburi’s Mombasa plant by intergrinding Portland cement clinker with blast furnace slag and has low heat of hydration, an attribute that can help reduce thermal cracking in large concrete pours.
The company is also offering its Ultra-series speciality concrete, including waterproof, self-compacting, pervious and fibre-reinforced concrete.
Bamburi says its waterproof concrete is designed for structures exposed to moisture, while its self-compacting product can flow under its own weight and is suited to heavily reinforced or difficult-to-access sections.
“Such products could be relevant to a project being developed in a coastal environment and involving extensive civil, foundation, marine and industrial infrastructure.’’
The Dangote refinery is planned as the anchor investment in an integrated petroleum and petrochemical complex at the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor.
The wider development is expected to include a 1,000MW power plant and facilities for fertiliser, plastics and chemical manufacturing.
Government sources put the investment at about Sh2.2 trillion and project up to 60,000 direct jobs.
The scale of construction is already becoming evident. Kenya’s State Department for Shipping and Maritime Affairs said a vessel carrying about 2,930 tonnes of construction equipment docked at Lamu Port on September 26.
More than 110 pieces of equipment were later reported on site, with another 400 expected to arrive within 60 days.
The potential refinery contract comes as the company undertakes a major expansion of its own production base.
It has signed a $250 million (about Sh32 billion) engineering, procurement and construction contract with Sinoma CBMI Construction for a 1.6 million-tonne-a-year clinker plant in Matuga, Kwale County.
The project is expected to raise Bamburi’s clinker capacity from one million to 2.6 million tonnes and cement production capacity from 1.8 million to four million tonnes annually.
That additional capacity could strengthen Bamburi’s ability to participate in large infrastructure projects along the Coast and elsewhere, although the Matuga plant is a longer-term capacity expansion rather than the immediate source of the proposed refinery supply.
