Kenyan authorities recently blocked a proposal by Tororo Cement Industry (TCI) to import limestone from Kenya’s vast Rift Valley province.

A joint statement made by the Managing Director of Kenya’s Kerio Valley Development Authority, Dr Mike Parklea and Amos Gathecha, the District Commissioner for West Pokot District where the limestone is located, said the move aims at reserving the deposits for a local cement factory expected to be established at the area later this year.

“It is unfortunate that Tororo Cement won’t get the limestone they requested for. The deposits are reserved for a local cement plant we are erecting here this year,” Mr Parklea said. The two claimed that local leaders and the District Development Committee never approved the transportation of the raw material to TCI.

The development follows a request lodged by TCI last year to the West Pokot District authorities through Kenya’s Ministry of Industry, requesting for the extraction and importation of limestone to Tororo - 10 kilometres from the Kenyan border.

Pokot District, according to feasibility studies conducted by KVDA 10 years ago, has numerous deposits capable of supplying limestone for the next 50 years. Deposits in Tororo were insufficient to manufacture cement that meets current market demands.