Devki’s KSh50bn Kitui clinker plant gets Ruto groundbreaking today, with 3,000 jobs promised

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President William Ruto is expected to lead the groundbreaking of a KSh50bn clinker and cement plant at Ngaaie in Mwingi North, Kitui County, on Tuesday morning, October 27, 2026. The project, run by Devki Group’s National Cement Company, will be Kitui’s first cement factory and the largest private investment in the county so far.

For Kitui residents, the stake is jobs. Devki Group executive chairman Narendra Raval said in September that about 2,600 people were already working on the site, that the number would pass 4,000 at the construction peak in January 2027, and that the finished plant would employ between 3,000 and 3,200 Kenyans permanently, most of them from the area.

What is being built

The plant sits on the limestone deposits of the Ngaaie (also spelt Ngaie) hills, the main raw material for clinker. Clinker is made by heating limestone and other minerals at very high temperatures and is then ground with additives to make cement. Kenyan cement makers have long imported part of their clinker, which leaves them exposed to shipping costs and swings in the shilling.

Devki has not officially published the plant’s final production capacity. Industry reports have put the target at about three million tonnes of clinker a year, and Mr Raval has said the plant will eventually produce enough clinker to meet Kenya’s needs. A 2024 environmental assessment for the Ngaaie operations covered limestone mining, crushing, two clinker lines and a 30MW captive power plant.

The investment figure has been given as KSh50bn in the invitation coverage and as about KSh55bn in Mr Raval’s earlier remarks. Construction is already under way, and the company expects operations to start around mid-2027, with full completion by the end of that year.

Why Ngaaie, and why now

The limestone at Ngaaie first drew Athi River Mining, which planned a cement project there before its financial troubles. National Cement, the maker of Simba Cement and part of Devki Group, bought ARM’s Kenyan assets in 2020 for KSh5bn, which brought the Ngaaie resource into the group.

Mr Raval has argued that making cement closer to eastern and northern markets will cut transport costs. The Kitui plant adds to Devki’s clinker plant in West Pokot, opened by President Ruto in 2024, and to the group’s plans for a cement plant in Nyeri with 800 direct jobs. The group is also seeking to mine iron ore in Taita Taveta for its steel business.

What it means for traders and builders

A trading centre has already grown at Kanana outside the site, with kiosks, food vendors and boda boda riders serving the workforce. Local suppliers of food, transport, fuel and building materials stand to gain most during the construction peak.

For builders, more local clinker could ease cement costs over time, although Devki has not said how the plant will affect retail prices. Cement buyers in Kitui, Machakos and the wider eastern region currently rely on supplies trucked in from plants near Athi River and further afield, so shorter delivery distances could lower what hardware shops pay once the plant is running.

The groundbreaking is part of President Ruto’s four-day tour of Machakos, Makueni and Kitui counties. On Monday he broke ground on the KSh2.56bn Manyenyoni affordable homes in Kitui. More details on the plant’s capacity and hiring are expected at the ceremony. Job seekers can follow construction and manufacturing openings on Job in Kenya.