The East African Portland Cement (EAPC) is undertaking a US$200 million expansion aimed at sharply increasing output and reasserting its relevance in a cement market dominated by larger regional rivals.
- •The investment, led by Kalahari Cement, a subsidiary of Tanzania’s Amsons Group, will lift the company’s annual production capacity to nearly 4 million tonnes from about 1.3 million tonnes over the next three years.
- •Last year, Amsons Group purchased 27% of EAPC’s stake that was held by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), lifting Dar-based company to majority ownership of 69%.
- •Amsons Group, which also owns Bamburi Cement after acquiring it from the Swiss firm Holcim in 2024, has mirrored the race for cement consolidation in Africa by other billionaires.
“Last year, we promised to facilitate the full revival and modernisation of EAPC, and we can now confirm that plans to invest more than $200 million in the first phase of the modernisation agenda have been secured,” Amsons Group managing director Edha Nahdi said during a familiarisation tour at EAPC’s Kajiado plant.
The capital injection will fund the construction of new clinkerisation and grinding plants designed to improve energy efficiency, alongside broader upgrades to manufacturing infrastructure and staff welfare facilities. Cement demand across the region has been buoyed by population growth, urbanisation and government-backed infrastructure projects such as the Affordable Housing Project.
East African Portland Cement, one of the country’s oldest manufacturers, has struggled in recent years with operational inefficiencies and capacity constraints, ceding ground to better-capitalised competitors. The latest investment marks a strategic attempt to reverse that trajectory by modernising production and scaling output.
According to industry data, Bamburi Cement holds 32.6% of the Kenyan cement market, followed by Mombasa Cement at 15.8%, East African Portland Cement at 15.1%, and Savannah Cement at 15%. On the other hand, cement production reached 9.5 million tonnes in the first 11 months of 2025, up from 8.1 million tonnes a year earlier, while consumption rose to 9.3 million tonnes from 7.8 million, reinforcing the demand backdrop attracting fresh capital.
The Continental Race
The richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, is the largest producer of cement in Africa with a capacity of about 52 million tonnes per year. Dangote Cement runs plants in Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia.
His domestic rival, Abdul Samad Rabiu also plans to expand his firm's BUA Cement total annual capacity to around 20 million tonnes by collaborating with a Chinese partner, CBMI Construction Ltd. Rabiu intends to dethrone Dangote in the Nigerian domestic market.
Moroccan businessman, Anas Sefrioui, owns CIMAF. The firm has quietly become one of Africa’s fastest‑growing industrial stories, operating 13 grinding plants across 10 countries including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea‑Bissau, Mali, and Mauritania. CIMAF produces roughly 12 million tonnes of cement annually. The company, while limited in the West African domain, plans to modernize its plants in key markets to rack up multi-million tonnes of additional cement.
While the continent's ‘big boys in cement’ have not staked interests in the East African market, the Tanzanian tycoons may have to contend with Devki Group, which owns National Cement and Simba Cement. The company produces 7.5 million tonnes of cement per year. What is far more interesting is that Devki owner, Narendra Raval, is a close ally of President William Ruto and is slated to have the political cards to dominate the Kenyan cement industry in the long run.
The cement sector has high capital requirements and logistical constraints that allow large producers to lock out competitors and convert political connections into market power.
Most of Africa's infrastructural growth is driven by projects like roads, mega-bridges, housing projects, and other massive investments funded by state budgets and loans. Once operational, cement plants generate stable, predictable cash flows, making the industry a reliable source of long-term wealth.
For billionaires, dominating the cement market not only secures profits but also national influence, positioning them as industrial leaders in countries undergoing rapid development.
