Nairobi, March 21 -- East African Portland Cement PLC (EAPCC) has shut down its Athi River-based factory for a Sh400 million upgrade in a plan to triple production capacity by 2026.

Oliver Kirubai, the EAPCC managing director, said the factory would remain shut for the replacement of machines such as bag fillers and refractory bricks used to insulate equipment against heat.

"We are doing the second phase of our machines upgrade, which is basically targeting to increase our output. Our target is that by June 2026 we should be able to produce one million tonnes of cement," he said in an interview.

The EAPCC plant currently produces 310,000 tonnes of cement annually. The upgrade is being undertaken by seven local contractors.

"The seven ...