Nigeria’s GZ Industries (GZI) Limited moved closer to building a multi-million dollar factory for the production of aluminium cans in Kajiado by publishing its environmental assessment report.
Kajiado, a town in Kajiado County, 80 kilometres south of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city will be home to the factory whose construction the Lagos-based company said would cost at least Sh1.3 billion ($15 million).
GZI’s factory in Sultan Hamud, Makueni County of Kenya is expected to be completed by the end of 2015, according to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report submitted to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).
A statement by project manager of GZI (Kenya), Dan Kertes stated that $100 million excludes capital investments as well as expenses like salaries, “training programme for new employees of Kenya, payments to government and county institutions, etc.”
According to the EIA report, GZ Industries would not need to look for customers for its aluminium cans as it already has a ready market, with Coca-cola, Tanzania’s Sierra Beverage Company and East African Breweries Ltd. (EABL) among others.
Beverage makers have not made their preference of cans over glass a secret, as they see it as a way of cutting cost – EABL said it was planning to save on losses incurred due to breakages and transporting empty bottles by packaging in cans for export.
Apart from these ready-made markets, GZ Industries will also export cans to other markets in East Africa. (VENTURES AFRICA)