Savannah Cement develops Hydraulic Road Binder

Kenya’s Savannah Cement has announced the successful development of a specially formulated road construction product to support ongoing road infrastructure development on a county and national level.

The cement blend product, known as a Hydraulic Road Binder (HRB), is used in road construction works to stabilise road surfaces and has been developed in response to a request by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. The development of the new HRB Product is a major milestone for Savannah Cement, which becomes the first Sub-Saharan Africa cement company to manufacture this specialist product.

As part of the product development process, Savannah Cement has also received Product Certification by the Kenya Bureau of Standards in line with the existing European standards BS EN 13282-1:2013 Rapid Hardening Hydraulic Road Binders – Composition, specifications and conformity criteria.

When he received the Standardisation Mark from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), Savannah Cement Managing Director, Ronald Ndegwa, said the new HRB product, which will retail at a lower rate than conventional cement, is expected to contribute up to 30% cost savings on the KES25 billion national road construction budget.

“The product was assessed for certification based on European Standards as we work on developing a Kenyan Standard. This mark will go a long way in helping Savannah Market HRB in Kenya and other regions as well, thus helping us to fulfill our key objective as KEBS of facilitating trade within and out of the country,” said KEBS Managing Director, Charles Ongwae.

Ahead of releasing the product release on the market, Ndegwa explained that Savannah HRB is undergoing intensive application and related tests using local road building materials. The ongoing testing process is part of a rapid response project by Savannah Cement following a recent request by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to local cement manufacturing firms. The request earlier placed by the Ministry, through the Kenya Rural Roads Authority, had tasked local manufacturers to consider developing a cost effective cement for soil stabilisation.

“The Savannah Cement product development team has made a major breakthrough on this project geared at drastically reducing infrastructure development costs,” added Ndegwa. “In conjunction with the respective roads development agencies including KENHA, KERRA and KURA, we are now getting into the application testing stage having concluded the quality certification process by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.”

The development of the Savannah HRB product is also part of the company’s commitment to provide a range of diversified products to meet public and private sector construction needs.

To grow its local and regional market share Savannah Cement has already lined up development projects valued at more than US$300 million. This includes an investment plan to establish a clinker manufacturing facility and commission the second grinding plant at its production complex, near Kitengela township. The company has already invested more than US$100 million to develop its 1.5 million tpa cement plant.

Adapted from press release by Louise Fordham

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/product-news/31072014/savannah-cement-kenya-develops-hydraulic-road-binder-71/