INFRASTRUCTURE / KENYA main cement producers. Savannah’s new plant is also expected to help increase its production capacity which currently stands at 1.5 million tonnes annually. Demand for cement has risen steeply over the past two years in tandem with a host of several multi-billion shilling projects in both the public and private sectors. The Sh174 billion Lamu coal power plant and the Sh300 billion standard gauge railway are among the projects that have pushed up demand for the key construction material. Cement consumption grew by nearly a fifth to hit a record five million tonnes last year, driven mainly by robust growth in property development. Fierce competition and a drop in the cost of energy have seen cost of the commodity drop to about Sh575 per 50kg bag, from more than Sh600. Firms have been producing more cement than the market can absorb, with statistics showing that production stood at 5.7 million tonnes last year, up from 5.05 million tonnes the previous year.
PROFILE / INTERSHELTER SULLIVAN Standard Investment Bank, in its latest report on the sector, says production will rise to 6.3 million tonnes this year and 6.7 million tonnes next year. Savannah last year announced that it has bagged tenders worth $250 million (Sh23 billion) for the supply of cement to several projects, in both infrastructure and real estate markets. The firm has won contracts to supply cement for government projects including construction of Terminal 4 at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), the ongoing building of the Sh55.6 billion JKIA greenfield terminal and the Sh4.5 billion Ruiru Sewerage plant. Mauritian company Seruji has acquired a 60% stake in Athi River-based Savannah Cement following approval from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CA). Seruji completed the buyout from China's Wan Ho International, which held 40% and Acme Wanji, which owned 20%. Savannah Heights has retained a minority stake in Savannah Cement. The shareholding shake-up makes Savannah
Cement Kenya's first fully-owned cement producer, as both Seruji and Savannah are owned by Savannah Cement founder Benson Ndeta. The buyout comes ahead of a planned US$250m clinker plant project in Athi River by Savannah Cement, which aims to reduce its operating costs by eliminating clinker imports. Cement demand has risen steeply over the past two years in tandem with a host of several large projects in both the public and private sectors. The US$1.88bn Lamu coal power plant and the US$3.23bn standard gauge railway are among the projects that have increased domestic cement demand. Domestic cement consumption grew by nearly 20% to hit a record 5Mt in 2014, driven mainly by robust growth in property development. However, Kenya's cement producers have been producing more cement than the market can absorb. In 2014 production hit 5.7Mt, up from 5.05Mt in 2013. The Standard Investment Bank has forecast that production will rise to 6.3Mt in 2015 and 6.7Mt in 2016.
INTERSHELTER Sullivan Architects’
Growing into the future with confidence
Over 50 per cent of inspected buildings in Nairobi defective
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lose to 1,600 buildings have been inspected in Nairobi by the Buildings Inspectorate and out of that figure, close to 800 buildings were considered defective and this is a result of poor safety standards in the construction industry in Kenya. Moses Nyakiongora, the secretary of the recently established Buildings Inspectorate at the Land, Housing and Urban Planning ministry, said that about 48 per cent of the buildings are okay, but the other 52 per cent needed to be attended to. “The 52 per cent are not all condemned, but they must be improved. Some of them will need strengthening, some will need to improve on ventilation, water provision, and light provision to make them habitable,” he explained. According to the Buildings Inspectorate most of these buildings lack good lighting systems, lack enough air circulation that results to various respiratory diseases and basically have a weak structure that does not fit to the expectations.
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A section of urban buildings being put up in Nairobi: 800 buildings were considered defective and this is a result of poor safety standards in the construction industry in Kenya.
East Africa Infrastructure & Engineering Review | May / June 2015
Our operations for the last 18 years in the building industry has enabled us acquire both knowledge and important technical and managerial skills in the built environment. East Africa Infrastructure & Engineering Review | May / June 2015
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he main objective for Intershelter Sullivan Architects is to be in an international provider of housing design solutions – hence the name Intershelter – which specifically focuses on sustainable and affordable housing. However with growth, there has arisen a need to revamp the company’s market strategy and more optimally harness the wealth of multi-disciplinary experience and expertise of the company’s team in order to provide high quality, timely and cost effective consultancy services to Clients. Indeed, Intershelter Sullivan Architects has achieved tremendous growth since its inception in the early nineties – It was then registered as a business in 1988 under the name Intershelter Consultants. The name subsequently changed to Intershelter Consultancy Services and, owing to the need to specifically focus on its core business, the name was later changed to Intershelter Sullivan Architects, incorporated in 2002. Architect William Busolo, the founder and current Principal Architect at Intershelter Sullivan Architects, built and horned his
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