Rivatex factory upgrade to commence this month

05 May '18

2 min read

Courtesy: Rivatex

Eldoret, Kenya based Rift Valley Textile Mills (Rivatex) has completed its technology upgrade which is slated to start this month. The factory has been modernised by India based textile machinery firm Lakshmi Machine Works Ltd (LMW), while the Indian government has granted Sh3.016 billion to the textile mill to help expand its productivity.

Rivatex has already completed machine installations, said R. Chandramouli, first secretary and head of chancery, Indian High Commission. Machine installations were delayed to complete some other work in the factory, he added.

The upgrade of Rivatex is expected to commence in May, said Kenyan media reports quoting Chandramouli. About 20 per cent of the funds has already been disbursed to the mill by the Indian government.

The factory’s production was below capacity owing to lack of raw materials and obsolete technology. The upgrade is expected to provide employment to over 10,000 workers as the factory aims to produce textile to fulfil local and foreign demands.

Rivatex was placed under receivership in 2000, but before that it produced millions of tonnes of fabric, consisting of 5.5 million metres of dyed cotton, 1.17 and 0.55 million metres of dyed and printed polyester viscose, respectively, and 7.7 million of printed cotton.

Kenya’s annual production is 30,000 bales as against its spinning capacity of 10,000 metric tonnes of lint. Thus, the country imports cotton lint and seed cake from countries like Uganda and Tanzania.

The announcement to loan the money to Rivatex was made during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country as part of his four-nation Africa tour in July 2016. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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