Kenya: Nzoia Sugar Company has resumed milling operations after remaining shut for seven months, following its takeover by West Kenya Sugar Company under a long-term lease arrangement intended to revive struggling State-owned sugar mills, reports Food Business Middle East & Africa.
The factory, which had been idle since late 2024, was handed over on May 10, 2025, after which extensive rehabilitation work was carried out to restore operations. Company officials said the focus was on repairing critical infrastructure that had deteriorated due to years of poor maintenance.
Major repair work included restoration of the main power turbines, mill turbines, boiler tubes, roller shells and milling units to stabilise operations and minimise frequent breakdowns. In addition, improvements were made to cane preparation equipment, evaporator sets, sugar and water pumps, and several sections of the factory were automated to enhance efficiency and operational control. These upgrades have enabled the mill to resume crushing at its installed capacity of 3,000 tonnes of cane per day.
Process Manager Isaac Wasike said the government’s decision to lease out the factory helped avert its possible collapse. He said the rehabilitation was completed successfully and the plant is now running under stable technical conditions. He added that inadequate maintenance over nearly a decade had severely affected the factory’s performance and reliability.
Following the overhaul, the factory is now targeting an extraction rate of up to 96 percent, with the cane-to-sugar ratio improving to 10:1. Worn-out parts that previously caused sugar losses due to leakages in the processing section have been replaced, resulting in better recovery and higher output.
At the time of the takeover, operations had completely stopped, with uncrushed cane drying up and later being discarded in the factory yard. Nzoia Sugar is among four State-owned sugar companies leased to private investors for 30 years as part of broader sector reforms. The other leased mills are Sony Sugar, Muhoroni Sugar and Chemelil Sugar, while the leasing of Mumias Sugar to the Sarrai Group remains on hold due to court cases.
Nzoia Sugar Chief Executive Officer Sohan Sharma said the factory currently has enough cane to support continuous operations. He said about 490,000 tonnes of cane are available from outgrowers and the nucleus estate, which is sufficient to sustain milling from December 2025 to June 2026.
Sharma said the immediate priority is modernising the plant by replacing outdated machinery, followed by an aggressive cane development programme. The company plans to support farmers through land preparation, supply of quality seed cane and fertiliser distribution to ensure a steady supply of raw material.
As part of its expansion plans, Nzoia Sugar intends to increase cane acreage by 12,500 acres under a structured farmer support programme. To strengthen harvesting and transport, the company has acquired 101 tractors and engaged more than 30 contractors to ensure daily cane deliveries meet milling needs.
The restart of operations comes shortly after Kenya exited the COMESA Sugar Safeguard regime, marking an important development in the country’s ongoing sugar sector reforms.
