Magadi Soda Ash Plant to Sack 200
ABOUT 200 employees working in the Premium Ash Magadi plant will be laid off from October in a planned closure of the facility, Tata Chemicals Magadi Limited has said.
The management said the anticipated job loss are occasioned by high operating costs in the manufacture of soda ash which led to the restructuring proposal, also known as mothballing.
"The restructuring proposal of this facility follows a comprehensive review of alternatives to improve plant performance such as efforts to reduce energy cost,
Muyang looks to set up animal feed plant in Kenya
Chinese feed machinery company, Muyang, has expressed interest in partnering with the Bungoma County government in Kenya, in the building of an animal feed processing company in region. Muyang Company, based in Yangzhou China, intends to set up the feed plant in the area at a cost of KES 165 million (USD$1.9 million), which will make use of sugarcane and maize waste products that are abundant in the region, if they are able to strike a deal with the county government. If the feed plant gets of the ground, its is expected to created an estimated 2000 jobs in the region, according to Bencher Yi, Muyang's Deputy President. Muyang intends to provide the feed machinery to set up the animal feed mill, along with provideing technical support, training and guaranteeing 2 years of maintenance for all machinery. The company has been set up in Africa since 2008 and has extensive operations in Africa, with similar companies in Tanzania, South Africa and Mozambique.
Sainsbury to Invest in East Africa
British retail billionaire, David Sainsbury is set to launch an investment company, Msingi, focused exclusively on local companies that support entrepreneurs.
The new investment company, Msingi ( Swahili word for foundation) will invest in East African companies that have high growth potential, provide market and technology research to business owners and also run an enterprise incubator to support budding entrepreneurs.
Industries To Benefit From Dedicated Power Lines In Kenya
Kenya has promised the top 200 industrial power consumers dedicated direct lines to alleviate frequent power outages, which has led to losses in millions of dollars for manufacturers in the East African country.
“We want to give you better base load power – power which is available at all times,” said Davis Chirchir, Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum at an investors’ forum organized by Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and sponsored by Kenya Power Ltd.
Chirchir noted that the country’s expensive power was running industries aground.
He therefore promised more reliable and cheaper power, with Geothermal power expected to add 100MW to the national grid at the end of 2015. It is part of the planned 5,000 MW projected to be generated from geothermal sources.
“Manufacturing has been contributing to GDP growth at around 13 percent but in recent times this has gone down to 8.9 percent and the absence of the expansion in the sector has been constrained by energy,” said Ms. Betty Maina, CEO of the KAM.
