Cement consumption and production hit an all-time record high in August, signalling recovery in the construction sector that contracted last year due to expensive bank loans, reduced State spending on public infrastructure, and strains of pending bills.
Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that consumption of cement, a key input in the building and construction industry, hit a record high of 907,154 tonnes in August, indicating a boom for manufacturers in the sector.
The record consumption was matched by cement firms, which produced 920,442 tonnes in August and 906,979 tonnes in the previous month.
“Cement production increased from 907.0 thousand tonnes in July 2025 to 920.4 thousand tonnes in August 2025. Similarly, cement consumption rose from 888.0 thousand tonnes to 907.2 thousand tonnes over the same period,” said the KNBS.
The sector suffered its first contraction in nearly 11 years, as output fell by 2.9 percent in the quarter ended June 2024, hurt by budget cuts on major projects, high costs of materials like cement, and a significant drop in private sector credit to the industry.
These developments affected the consumption of cement.
Latest data shows signs of a rebound in construction activities on the back of the resumption of stalled public projects after the government announced it had started paying off contractors following verification of debt claims.
Some 580 projects had stalled due to unpaid bills, resulting in reduced cement consumption last year.
In April, hundreds of road contractors resumed work after the government received Sh63 billion to pay pending bills, unlocking an impasse that stalled more than 580 projects.
Contractors (both foreign and local) laid down tools over the government's failure to pay them billions of shillings for both ongoing and completed works, some dating back to as early as 2016. The debt was estimated at over Sh650 billion as of July last year, with some contractors claiming over Sh10 billion.
Failure to pay the contractors was attributed to a thinning fiscal space as the Treasury grappled with mounting debt payments that had left little cash for other items like pending bills and development projects.
While addressing the Parliament in July, Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport, Davis Chirchir, said the government is actively addressing pending bills to ensure the completion of stalled road projects across the country.
"The biggest challenge has been the lack of liquidity to settle pending bills. That is why contractors halted work," said the CS.
Mr Chirchir added that contractors had agreed to write down up to 35 percent of the interest on the delayed payments in a bid to ease pressure on the government.
The resumption in construction projects helped to spur the economy in the second quarter of 2025.
KNBS data shows that the economy expanded by 5 percent in the second quarter of 2025, compared to 4.6 percent in the same period last year, driven by a rebound in construction activity and strong performance in the agriculture and financial sectors.
Similarly, in the same period under review, the Central Bank of Kenya lowered its benchmark interest rate from 9.75 per cent in July 2025 to 9.50 percent in August 2025, resulting in cheaper credit to contractors in the building industry.
