EABL to finance Sh15bn Kisumu brewery using loans

Kenya Breweries Ltd, a subsidiary of East African Breweries Limited (EABL), will use credit to finance the Sh15 billion brewery in Kisumu.

EABL Managing Director Andrew Cowan says the leading regional brewer will be seeking funding from local banks to set up the for Senator Keg beer brand factory. “We are now in talks with local banks to have them fund the project that will be fully financed by debt,” Mr Cowan said today.

Works on the plant, which will sit on a 50-acre property in Kisumu, are projected to take 18 months to complete. The plant was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta on July 17th.

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According to projections, the plant alone will lead to increased utilisation of sorghum from the current 20,000 metric tonnes to around 40,000 in the next five years. Increased demand for sorghum will see the number of contracted farmers grow from 30,000 to around 45,000.

As a result, gross additional farmer earnings are expected to reach over Sh6 billion annually over the next decade. The plant will engage sorghum farmers from Kisumu, Siaya, Migori, Homa Bay, Tharaka Nithi, Kitui and Makueni. The investment would result in 110,000 jobs.
The Kisumu facility, which will accommodate the new one, started operations in 1984 but was closed in 2002 due to improvements in beer-production technology that helped create excess capacity in beer production at the Nairobi brewery.

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The Ksh15 billion investment in a new brewery for Senator Keg underlines its long-standing commitment to Kenya, which expands Diageo’s incremental capital investment to Ksh30 billion over the last five years. Once complete, this brewery will increase the production capacity of the now iconic Senator Keg, which will in turn provide socio-economic benefits, including helping to reduce the consumption of illicit brews.